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Schools

School Bus Service Criticized by Parents at Board of Education Meeting

Unsafe bus stops biggest problem, one parent states.

The two biggest problems at the beginning of the new school year concern transportation and the condition of town playing fields.

Parents of school children appeared at last night’s Board of Education meeting and expressed concern about school bus service, which is being provided by a new company, M&J Bus Co. this year.

Michelle Spader, 15 Leighton Ct., was the first parent to speak during the public comments segment of the meeting. She criticized changes
in bus stops that had been made that require children to wait at unsafe areas.

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“Parents are not satisfied with the changes that were made and the routes should have been driven prior to making the changes,” she said.

Spader also questioned the caliber of bus drivers, saying an abusive driver she complained about last year had been rehired and put on the
same route that serves her children.

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“There are a lot of angry parents and children’s lives are in their hands,” she said.

Another parent complained about the card system that is used to notify parents of bus schedule changes.

Superintendent Dr. Robert Cronin spoke about the transportation issue and said bus service had improved each day since the start of the school year, with buses arriving on time at the elementary, middle and high schools. He said the bus company is revisiting routes and making revisions and that his office meets with the company every day. He said parents with concerns should contact his office.

“There are always transportation issues at the beginning of school years and we’ll have an update on the issues at next month’s meeting,” he said.

At the beginning of the meeting Board Vice Chairman Stephen DiCapua discussed the status of Utility Field, which is currently unusable. Resodding and other work to the field is planned with bids being taken, but DiCapua had no update on the status of the job last night. Work had been planned to be completed in time for the beginning of the school year and he expressed concern that the date wasn’t met.

He introduced Jim Albert, owner of James A. Albert Landscape, who is volunteering to assist the town with field maintenance. Albert maintains the fields at the Hopkins School and has more than 20 years experience. His goal is to set up a maintenance plan for town athletic fields.

“He will prioritize what has to be done to make the fields safer and stay ahead of the issues instead of reacting,” DiCapua said.

Our goal is to “develop a maintenance schedule, price it out, fund it and budget it out,” he said.

Dr. Cronin also announced that a 9/11 commemoration will be held at the high school today.

Board member Anita Anderson introduced a program that will assign Board members to individual schools. The Board members will attend events at the schools, such as concerts and plays, in an effort to get to know the schools better. Every member at last night’s meeting agreed to participate in the program.

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