EDUCATION

Framingham School Committee takes action on bus driver shortage. What's next

Jesse Collings
MetroWest Daily News

FRAMINGHAM The School Committee has voted to issue nearly $115,000 in refunds to about 425 families who have not been provided with adequate busing, as a driver shortage continues to impact Framingham Public Schools' ability to get kids to and from school in a timely manner. 

The School Committee voted unanimously on Wednesday to refund $114,750 to families, citing the failure to provide adequate services through the school’s transportation partner, NRT. A shortage of drivers has led to fewer buses being available, which in turn has caused disruptions to athletic team schedules, as well as forcing students to wait after school for their buses.

More:Are there enough school bus drivers to get your kids to school in Framingham?

School Committee member Jennifer Moshe said she is the parent of a bused child, and would decline reimbursement from the School Department. But she also said families deserve reimbursement, given the financial commitments many have had to make due to inadequate busing.

Moshe said the refunds will come from money that Framingham Public Schools will not pay to NRT because it has not been able to provide enough drivers.

"We have many families that have paid for busing this year that are essentially paying twice, whether that be getting their kids to school by alternative means, which in many cases is costing these families more money," Moshe said. "I propose that we refund the money to all 425 families, and use the money that has not been paid to NRT for underperforming on their contract. In the world of customer service, it's the right thing to do for these families."

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According to the school district's director of finance and operations, Lincoln Lynch IV, refunds will cost the department $114,750. Lynch added that while school administrators hope to get refunds paid by April, the process of refunding all families can be tedious and will take some time.

“The process to refund takes a significant amount of time," he said. "If the person paying the bus fee is already in our accounting system, it isn’t too difficult. But if they are not, we have to submit each person as an individual vendor, which means we have to reach out to the families to make sure we have the correct information. Based on past experience, this is a long process, so I just want to set the expectation that while the goal is around the middle of April, it could take longer and we would have to get this done by the end of the fiscal year.” 

Framingham Superintendent of Schools Robert Tremblay said NRT has consistently failed to provide enough bus drivers.

Superintendent of Schools Robert Tremblay said NRT has consistently failed to provide enough drivers, violating its contract with the city.

“Our transportation company continues to fail our students by providing, on a good day, 20 less drivers than the city has contracted to have,” he said. 

The School Department has taken legal action against its previous busing provider, as well as addressed the language in the contract with its current one, according to Tremblay. The superintendent conceded that failing to rectify this issue can be viewed as a shortcoming of his administration, but he also highlighted the efforts members of the department are making to make sure students are being serviced. 

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Tremblay said Lynch paid out of his own pocket to get a coach bus to transport student-athletes to a game, then filed for reimbursement with NRT. Also, school administrators have stayed with students after school while they wait for delayed buses to arrive.

“When our director of finance and operations pulls out his own credit card to pay $1,200 for a coach bus to get our students to a game, that is commitment to kids,” Tremblay said. “I’ve personally stayed with kids in our hallways with students. Teachers have a contractual end to their day, so our administrators end up staying with students.” 

MWRTA steps in

During Wednesday's School Committee meeting, Tremblay said the MetroWest Regional Transit Authority will begin providing transportation to students aged 12 and over who are not currently being serviced by school busing.

“These are additional runs that the MWRTA would make, based on a concentration of students who are 12 and older who can ride the MWRTA at the beginning and end of the school day,” Tremblay said. “These buses cannot do door-to-door deliveries of students, as it were, but there are stops at or near schools. The point of the announcement is to express our sincerest gratitude toward our city transport adviser for stepping up, where our own transportation provider has not.” 

The MWRTA was scheduled to hold a meeting Thursday with interested parents and students to explain how students can access the MWRTA using an app, and how the agency's services can provide safe and reliable transportation to students who are struggling to get to and from school on time.

"The MWRTA has a fixed route system, so we want to help people understand how to download the app and teach them our routes and how they can get to and from school," said MWRTA Director of Community Relations Jon Fetherston. "All of our drivers have gone through background checks, are licensed, CPR trained, and the buses are all tracked by GPS. This is a safe and easy way for students to get to school if they can't get there through the normal school bus."

Fetherston said that legally, MWRTA buses cannot drive on school property, but that Framingham High School has a bus stop outside the school, and middle schools can have stops implemented nearby to make sure students are getting dropped as close as possible to the school. The program is free, as are all current transportation services provided by the MWRTA.

"There are no fares for any of our services at the moment, Fetherston said. "If that does change, the School Department has already told us that they will work with us to cover the costs."