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Thursday, July 24, 2008

School District Scrambling for Drivers

By Lee Ross
Mountain View Telegraph
      Help wanted: massive numbers of bus drivers.
    That's part of the fallout from the Moriarty-Edgewood School District's main school bus contractor closing its doors in June, leaving school officials scrambling to come up with a replacement.
    The district had about 3,500 students at the end of the school year, and many of them took the bus. Plant School Transportation, which had worked with the district for around 30 years, operated 37 of the district's 53 bus routes.
    At one point there was discussion of hiring another contractor to take on the routes, but that deal fell through and, at a special meeting on Monday, the school board decided it was up to the district to take up the slack.
    That means there are a minimum of 37 bus driver positions to fill, according to Cindy Sims the district's director of personnel. So far, 16 of the roughly 40 drivers who were employed by Plant School Transportation have responded.
    "We're not even halfway to our goal, and it's not even a month until school starts. No pressure," Sims said.
    She said all 40 drivers have received phone calls and e-mails from the district's transportation department in an effort to solicit applications.
    The district doesn't just need drivers, though.
    Buses will be provided through a combination of buses loaned from other districts and a few that will be purchased with funding from the Public Education Department, according to Associate Superintendent Mike Reese.
    He said the district is also looking into acquiring facilities, possibly through a lease agreement or purchase, to house the buses.
    "We'll do our best to make sure that everything is ready to go at the beginning of the year," Reese said.
    He added that there was talk of staggered start times for different schools in the district, to accommodate for fewer drivers or vehicles.
    "There was some feeling on our part that we would have to consolidate routes," he said. "The PED was trying to make sure that we had done everything that we could to come up with the right number of buses ... they said that for the coming year that (consolidated routes) won't be necessary."
    When asked about whether there would be enough drivers to cover every route, Reese's said there would be, one way or another.
    "There'll have to be. We don't have a choice," he said.
    Sims said she hopes the recent school board decision will help pick up the pace for applications.
    "Now that the decision has been made that they'll be working for us, I'm hoping that they'll step forward," she said. "This is a good family to be part of."
    The district — which has run some of its own buses — has retained its drivers for as long as 27 years, Sims said. She also said that drivers who worked for Plant School Transportation will get as much or more than their previous pay and health, retirement and paid vacation benefits are all available for district employees.
    For more information on driving for the district, call 832-5830 or stop by the transportation office, located next to Moriarty Middle School, weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Driver orientation is Aug. 8.
    "Don't dilly-dally on this," Sims advised.
   

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