This week’s Bellwood-Antis School Board meeting drew a crowd of 40 concerned residents who wanted to share their views on the school bus issue.
Currently, the district is looking into contracting bus service with Raystown Transit, a private bus company. Many parents want the school to continue with the district operated system.
“My concern is for my kids. We have one on one communication between the bus driver, we love our bus driver. We don’t want other people coming in and not caring about our children,” said Christine Snyder.
She also expressed her concern about changes in bus stops.
“A lot of us are working parents and if the bus stops get farther away it will be a big concern.”
Laura Burget relayed a story of coming upon her child’s bus along the side of the road. There had been an accident, no fault of the driver, and he had all the kids off the bus, talking with them and the police were calling the school.
“Every single parent was called,” she said. Burget wondered, is this going to happen with a contracted bus system?
Marsha Stapleton was given the privilege to ride the kindergarten bus for three days.
“I saw her (the bus driver) with her own money buying little stickers, making up a chart. If the kids got so many stickers they could get a special prize.”
“We know our neighbors, we know our children are safe with our teachers, coaches and bus drivers, so why change this?” asked Lori George. She also wanted to know if there would be longer bus rides?
The general consensus from the 40 citizens in attendance was a general trust and respect for the districts bus drivers.
“Must every decision depend on the almighty dollar?” asked Stapleton.
Superintendent Brian Toth and Business Manager Ken Swanson shared handouts with those in attendance.
The pair was also able to address some of the concerns brought up during the public comment.
“Stops are set by the district, we will continue to set those,” said Toth.
He also explained whether the buses are district owned or contracted, all reference checks are done and need to be board approved.
Parents also raised the question about a district policy involving kindergarten students. Right now, bus drivers may not let a kindergarten student off the bus without an adult there to pick them up. Toth assured parents that this policy will stay the same.
“As you know, we’re not in the transportation business, we’re in the education business,” said Toth.
Bellwood is the only school in the area that has not contracted out its bus service.
Toth said because there is not enough drivers, he occasionally has to send Swanson and other school personnel out to drive the buses.
“Ken has to stop what he’s doing and go out and drive the bus because I don’t have enough buses,” said Toth, “He doesn’t get any compensation for that.”
Toth also explained that the board’s decision is not based solely on money.
“Our main concern is safety, not just money,” he said.
Recently, Toth walked through the buses. He had Swanson take him out on one of the older buses.
“We took some of the winding roads. I don’t know how that bus makes it around,” said Toth.
“I think this district does a great job at maintaining these buses, but we have nine buses that are already eight-years-old or order and you never know when you’ll have a mechanical problem when they get that old.”
Some of the advantages of contracting out the bus service include a larger pool of drivers and buses. The district needs buses for extracurricular activities.
“We can’t handle all those runs so we have to subcontract them out anyway,” said Toth.
“If we have a driver call off, if they’re well in the morning but get sick in afternoon, we have to announce which kids need to go on which bus. Then there is overcrowding.
“This contractor is familiar with Bellwood-Antis. Even before I got here, this particular contractor was involved with the school in the management and driving of some of the buses,” said Toth.
If there is a problem with one of the drivers, the district would be able to ask for that driver to be changed.
Board member Dave Worthing said he can understand the parents concerns. He said his daughter probably had a better relationship with her bus driver than she ever did with her teachers. But, Worthing said the board is taking this decision very seriously and he understands the concerns. Number one is the children. Also, he said the board needs to look at the financial and safety aspects as well as concerns for the bus drivers.
Swanson reviewed the financial situation, showing $87,957 could be saved after one year with a contracted bus service. Taking into account other considerations such as the sale of the current buses and vans and repairs, the total impact on the 2005-06 school budget is projected to be $377,957. Over a three-year contract that figure would increase to $553,870.
“It’s a hard and a tough decision but we’re trying our best to get the best opportunity for our drivers,” added Swanson.
The board wasn’t able to go into a lot of details because they are still in negotiations with Raystown Transit. However, no decisions can be made until June 30 when the bus drivers’ contract runs out.
