Posted on: Tuesday, February 12, 2019

The following letter was distributed to all parents and guardians Tuesday morning via email by Superintendent of Schools Jon C. Bernard in response to a variety of parental concerns regarding the district’s school bus transportation provider and the immediate steps being taken by the administration to address the issues raised.

Tuesday’s response by the district follows a firestorm that erupted on social media last night via the North Reading Community Connections page, a private Facebook page,  after a parent relayed a story about how her son’s bus driver apparently drove directly to an afternoon bus stop to drop off students without first going to the school to pick up the students. According to the parent, the bus driver was surprised to learn that his own bus was empty and then told the parents present that he had forgotten to pick up the kids.

School Committee member Mel Webster immediately forwarded the mother’s concerns to the superintendent Monday night and also assured the parents posting their additional concerns to the site the following message Tuesday morning: 

Mel Webster “A few things to make clear. This is a serious situation that is being addressed. Our director of finance and operations met with Principal Killeen yesterday afternoon, and an immediate change was made with the driver today. I’m not minimizing the issue, but the school department is not ignoring it.

“Second, we are talking about one bus route out of the 9 or 10 buses we have in our system. Again, the issues with this bus that have been posted are serious, but let’s not take this one bus route and turn around and say All busing in North Reading is unsafe. 

“Third, I have been in close contact with Supt. Bernard and Mr. Connelly and they are working on this issue as we speak. These allegations are troubling and will be dealt with. I was communicating past midnight last night with school committee member Buckley regarding this issue. We can’t make parents feel better about what has already happened, but I can assure you we are on top of the situation now.”

The North Reading Transcript is following up with the parties involved and will have an updated story in Thursday’s edition.

Maureen Doherty, Editor

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Good morning.  I write to you this morning to inform you that it is my understanding that some parents have taken to social media in the past fifteen or so hours to express their concerns with the service that has been provided, particularly lately, from the school bus transportation provider, North Reading Transportation.  This information has been shared with me by others who follow social media sites that I do not follow.

Additionally, a few parents have sent emails either to me or the Director of Finance and Operations for the North Reading Public Schools, Mr. Michael Connelly, expressing their concerns with school bus transportation service.

The nature of the concerns expressed includes timeliness, speed of buses, efficiency of pick-up and drop-off of students, and a general dissatisfaction with the performance of some drivers.

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.  Later this morning, Mr. Connelly and I will be meeting with our assigned representative at North Reading Transportation, to learn more about why there has been a breakdown in service recently and what action steps are being taken to improve upon the level of service for all students and their parents.  We intend to speak specifically (but not exclusively) about concerns for the riders of bus 3 and bus 4 given concerns that have been shared with us by parents.  It is my expectation that North Reading Transportation will continue to work diligently with us to immediately address concerns and improve bus transportation service.

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. With this said, however, I ask all parents to please understand that there is very regular contact from the North Reading Public Schools’ administration to North Reading Transportation to be proactive and that, as school officials, we do not simply react only to concerns when they are brought to our attention. While we do our best to respond to concerns when we learn of them, we do try and anticipate needs and take proactive steps that help to minimize breakdowns in the quality of school bus transportation service for our students.

In the meantime, I invite parents to share your concerns personally with the district administration (school principals, assistant principals, Mr. Connelly, Ms. Rosaly MacKillop [Bus Transportation Coordinator] or me) as this is the most efficient way to see that concerns are resolved.  Given that the district administration does not follow social media sites, there is a risk that a parent concern may not reveal itself.  Direct communication with the school district will also help to minimize the perpetuation of false or incorrect information.

Thank you, and please know that we will continue to monitor this situation closely and regularly.

Jon C. Bernard, Superintendent

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