When schools shut down in March because of the coronavirus, thousands of buses sat idle.
Now, as districts across New Jersey rework their back-to-school plans, school bus contractors are left wondering if they’ll go back to work in September. More concerned are the contractors who provide transportation for districts who will begin the school year all-remote.
Questions abound: Will they survive the extended off time? Will they be able to provide buses when in-person lessons resume?
On a typical day, about 800,000 students are transported to and from school by bus, according to the NJ Department of Education. There are about 11,000 contractor-owned school buses in the state, according to Courtney Villani, head of the New Jersey School Bus Contractors Association.
“We are all really concerned about the future of our business and the industry as a whole,” Villani said. “We are on the brink of not being an industry anymore.”
Some school districts are offering bus companies 35 percent of what they’re owed on their 2019-2020 contract for the period during the COVID-19 closure, she said. Other districts aren’t paying at all.
At least one bus company is already seeking legal action.
Irvin Raphael, Inc. a student transport company based in East Brunswick, filed a lawsuit last month against the South Brunswick Township Board of Education for failing to pay in full on its 2019-2020 contract. The bus company says the school district stopped paying in mid-March when schools closed and owes $118,358 through June.
Neither Irvin Raphael representatives nor South Brunswick school administrators responded to requests for comment.
“We’re trying to be there and in some districts it’s a warm fuzzy hug and in others, there’s no conversation whatsoever,” Villani said.
The company her family owns, Villani Bus Company, has been in business for more than 100 years. They currently have signed only about 2% of the contracts with schools they normally would at this point in the year.
Complying with coronavirus precautions isn’t a problem, she assured.
“One of best things on our side with school buses is ventilation,” Villani said.
Masked students can ride with the windows down and sit in alternating rows, per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
Disinfecting her fleet for buses will cost about $220 per day or $45,000 per year, Villani said, adding, “the districts are getting federal funding but we haven’t been included.”
Other districts are trying their best to keep bus contractors in business, so they are ready to roll when kids go back to in-person instruction.
Linden School Business Administrator Kathy Gaylord paid her district’s five bus companies their contracted amount during the coronavirus closure in the spring, as long as they provided payroll records showing they were still paying their drivers.
“I was hoping to keep people off unemployment,” Gaylord said.
But she doesn’t think she’ll have that luxury this coming school year. Linden’s budget was slashed by $3.9 million in June, after it was already approved.
“I’m looking for every penny now,” she said. “If they’re not going to be transporting kids, I doubt I’m going to be giving them all that money.”
One of her contracted bus providers told Linden that if they don’t sign them for the entire school year, they might not be available when they need them.
“I think it’s a threat because where (else) are they going to be?” Gaylord said.
Linden technically awarded bus contracts for the 2020-2021 school year, but stipulated that they only stand if school is in session. Then, a few days later, the district switched to remote learning, at least for the month of September, because it didn’t have enough teachers for in-person instruction.
Bus companies that do get contracts might get a fraction of what they’re used to.
In Gloucester County, Washington Township Schools Superintendent Joe Bollendorf, said his district is going through bus requests now. “We have many fewer students in need of transportation,” he said. “Families are opting to bring their children to and from school.”
In school districts like Wayne, there is more flexibility. The Board of Education has its own fleet of 85 buses, Superintendent Mark Toback said.
“This situation is very fluid and as a result, our plans can change multiple times before the start of the school year,” he said. “We anticipate that parents will continue to evaluate the situation and exercise their right to change their minds as we go through the re-opening process.”
“The only thing we can be certain of is uncertainty,” Toback said.
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com.
"bus" - Google News
August 22, 2020 at 07:00PM
https://ift.tt/2QdkMwL
Bus companies fight for survival as more N.J. schools shift to all-remote reopening - NJ.com
"bus" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2rp2JL3
https://ift.tt/3aT1Mvb
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Bus companies fight for survival as more N.J. schools shift to all-remote reopening - NJ.com"
Post a Comment