Published February 14, 2019

By JILLIAN STRING

NORTH READING — Batchelder School parent Marisa Lava took to social media Monday evening to express her concerns regarding North Reading Transportation’s (NRT) Bus 4.

“My son goes to the Batch and we have had a ridiculous amount of safety issues with the bus company, North Reading Transportation. We have had at least a dozen possibly more bus drivers in less than 2 years and for some reason the good drivers always seem to get transferred. Just to give you a little perspective, here are just some of the issues and concerns we have had to deal with on BUS #4…possible bus driver driving while impaired/intoxicated, an accident which left my daughter with a concussion, another child nearly getting run over, a pit stop to use the restroom while the bus is full, missing the school to drop kids off at the beginning of the day- just drove right past the school this happened TWICE, hitting a tree, knocking over trash barrels and getting lost in ANOTHER town. Today’s incident I think has thrown me completely over the edge, my husband went to pick up our son at the bus stop, the bus pulls up, flashers on, everything appears normal, the doors open and NO kids come off of the bus??? The bus driver gets out of the bus looks at the bus while the parents are asking what is going on…the bus driver turns to them and says he FORGOT to pick-up the kids from school,” Lava posted in part on the North Reading Community Connection Facebook page.

Lava concluded her post by stating: “When will enough be enough?? Who should I/we talk to that may actually help us? I’m looking for suggestions on resolving what is obviously a bigger issue. I’m really not trying to complain although I know it sounds like it, I am genuinely concerned for our children. Thank you to anyone who can share some suggestions on how to address these issues.”

Upon learning of the social media post, Superintendent Jon Bernard sent an email to parents.

“The overarching intent of this email is to notify all parents that the concerns expressed are taken seriously and, when deemed appropriate, corrective actions are taken,” Bernard stated in the email. “Students who ride our school buses and their parents should be assured at all times that the best interests of students are being served. I am not confident that this has been the case, especially most recently.  I will do my best, along with Mr. Connelly, to work to ensure that things improve in the very near term.”

(The complete letter is printed elsewhere in today’s Transcript.)

Bernard reported to the Transcript that neither he, nor Director of Finance and Operations Michael Connelly, have heard from Lava regarding any of the instances mentioned in her post.

Other complaints received

Bernard noted that he and Connelly have received complaints from other parents regarding the demeanor of drivers for NRT, missed stops, and one parent reported their child sustained a head injury when a bus stopped short.

Given the severity of the claims, Bernard requested a new driver be put in place for Bus 4 on Tuesday, February 12 while the incident was under review. NRT granted this request.

“We need to see immediate improvement,” Bernard told the Transcript.

Other members of the North Reading Community Connection page expressed their displeasure with NRT as well.

Leah Guimont wrote, “My son is paid to ride bus 4, but I have stopped sending him. I drive him every day to and from. He has come home with headaches from fast stops/ hitting head and stories that make my skin crawl.”

“Seriously makes me somewhat grateful we live too close to bus. Scary,” Susan Salvatierra commented.

Regina Reilly stated that you get what you pay for when you choose the cheapest bid.

Former bus driver Liz Donaldson stated that she left North Reading, where she had driven a bus for 25 years, when NRT won the bid over North Suburban Bus Company.

Donaldson claimed North Suburban was “pushed out” even after they offered to match NRT’s bid.

“North Suburban Bus Company was not ‘pushed out of town.’ Their bid for the contract was far higher than the bid from North Reading Transportation,” School Committee member Mel Webster commented.

Both Webster and Bernard denied that North Suburban offered to match NRT’s bid. Bernard noted that it would have been illegal for North Suburban to have done so.

This refers to the Sherman Act, which prohibits any agreement among competitors to fix prices, rig bids, or engage in other anticompetitive activity.

Driver re-instated after meeting

Bernard and Connelly attended a face-to-face meeting with NRT officials on Tuesday afternoon to discuss recent complaints.

Upon completion of the meeting, Bernard sent another email to the parents of Bus 4 students to inform them of the outcome.

According to Bernard, the driver of Bus 4 has been completing his routes independently for less than two weeks. His route differs for each of the schools, and he made a wrong turn at the start of the Batchelder School route.

Realizing his mistake, the driver stopped to inform parents at a nearby bus stop of the error and that he was on his way back to the school.

Bernard stated that the video footage from Bus 4 confirms the mistake and the attempt to rectify it.

As a result, the driver of Bus 4 was reinstated on Wednesday, February 13.

Bernard noted that he has only heard from two parents regarding this issue, and anyone claiming they have reached out and not received a response is being dishonest.

“We pride ourselves on being responsive,” Bernard said.

Meeting for parents Feb. 26

Bernard, Connelly, and NRT officials will hold an open forum for parents of Bus 4 students on Tuesday, February 26 at 4 p.m. in the Distance Learning Lab at NRHS to further discuss any concerns parents may have.

In the meantime, Bernard urged parents to reach out to him, Connelly, Bus Transportation Coordinator Rosaly MacKillop, or their school principals directly to report future incidents.

Lava was unavailable for comment as of press time.