Mayor Paul Medany (left) addressed the Deptford board of education at its recent meeting regarding a growing discontent between the school district and the township.
The situation got heated during the public comment portion of the township board of education meeting on Sept. 16, with grievances aired on topics that included transportation.
Some parents claimed their kids – particularly those between the ages 3 to 5 – are being picked up almost an hour late or getting on the wrong bus, and that entire neighborhoods are being overlooked.
“We got to stop making excuses,” said Dillon Rhodes, a father of two. “Every year, this is what, four or five years now? It’s been a complete mess, and we’ve got to stop the BS that this is normal. I can ask any of my friends in any other district – New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland – that 10 minutes late is a normal transportation issue.
“Not an hour, not a 5-year-old missing, not an entire neighborhood.”
Parents also testified that when they do report a busing issue to the district’s transportation committee, they are often told a supervisor is unavailable or get no response to calls and emails.
“They’re sitting on a bus when they’re a walker and then no one can find them,” said parent Trish Skolnick. “That literally happened this year. They’re told they’re a walker when they ride the bus; that was my kid last year. Told he was a walker, he was 8 years old, that he was dismissed from the school.
“The school had no idea he was out walking around by Good Intent Road,” she added. “I had no idea, because he should’ve been on a bus.”
Mayor Paul Medany addressed the discontent at the board session.
“I get a feeling that the community relations aren’t going very well between the school district and the township,” he observed.
According to the school board, there are currently 27 bus drivers employed by the district, and the hope is to hire more. Since 2012, there have been 10 people in the role of transportation head.
“We have a wide range of concerns,” said Ronald Latham Jr., the district’s business administrator. “They’re trying to work on it. In some cases, the supervisor is out driving a bus, if we have a call out. The assistant supervisor is driving a bus. Three out of the four (supervisors) were out today because they were on buses as bus aides or were driving the bus.
“These are the type of situations they’re confronting daily,” he added, “and I want to bring that to your attention. They’re doing their best to respond quickly and fairly. We’re only asking for patience and respect while they continue this work.”
The next board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 14, at 6:30 p.m.
