Address of this draft page: http://www.oocities.org/fltaxpayer/schools/Johnson010813.html
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In Vermont, London based First Student Ryder school bus
contractor http://www.firstgroup.com raises busing cost 32%
(property taxes later rose 21%...) Now, in addition to serious questions on a flawed bus contract process, there are now serious questions on SAFETY AND DRIVER CERTIFICATIONS: Local TV and Radio News Flashes: "200 of First Student's drivers' are not certified-licenced to drive in Florida. First Student Driver Adelphia Davis was arrested for DUI on Saturday morning, 8/11/2001" .....and "bus loads of First Student Drivers were drinking heavily on their 8/10/2001 weekend trip from Jacksonville Florida to Disney World, Orlando Florida. This is a continuation of last week's school bus fiasco on Duval County FL's opening week of school." |
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?Illegal Activity by First Student school bus company? More Failures by First Student linked bus companies..... One of many E-Mails from Andy Johnson, 1320 AM radio Jacksonville Florida, call in number (904) 389-1320, http://www.wjgr.com/new_index.htm, to Jacksonville City-Duval County School Board Members: From: Andy Johnson downtobusiness@yahoo.com To: Kris Barnes krisb41@mediaone.net, "Ms. Martha Barrett" barrettm@educationcentral.org, "Ms. Gwen Gibson" gibsong@educationcentral.org, "Mr. Jimmie Johnson" johnsonj@educationcentral.org, "Ms. Cindy Rounds" roundsc@educationcentral.org, "Ms. Linda Sparks" ecology22@aol.com, "Ms. Susan Wilkinson" wilkinsons@educationcentral.org, cc: Press List cc: Elected Official List cc: Friends List Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 09:10:59 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Fwd: Bruce Transportation (Now First Student) Search The Duval County School Board should not have allowed First Student even a chance to get its foot in the door here in Jacksonville. Radcliff and Blackwood tricked the Board, not revealing what a consistently BAD ACTOR is First Student. No reasonable School Board would have allowed First Student a chance at transporting our children had the community known the true story about First Student one year ago. It is now confirmed, again and again and again, that First Student is using 200 illegal drivers here from out of state. In other words, one out of each two First Student buses which we see tomorrow in Jacksonville has an illegal driver. These illegal drivers are not safe. The laws are on the books for good reason, to protect the safety of our kids. These drivers do not have Florida certification as bus drivers; therefore they are all illegal. Some of them do not have a Florida driver's license of any sort; that is illegal. Some of them have obtained Florida licenses through claiming to have moved to Florida, when they have not moved to Florida; that is illegal. The Florida Dept. of Education says that there is no such thing as a legal temporary Florida school bus driver here from out of state for a few weeks. Some have no drug tests; but these tests are required by Florida law. Most or all have no current MVR reports; but this is required by Florida law. Most or all have no FBI background check, as required. None of them have filed on record downtown in the School Board which is specifically required by Florida law. None of them have complete files on record at the First Student offices. And, if these files were complete, the drivers would be illegal. The law says the files must be maintained in the School Board building. [So First Student is now treating Jacksonville FL more and more like Bruce Bus Company below...] Here is more: From: Bill Lewis Bill-Lewis@netzero.net To: Andy Johnson downtobusiness@yahoo.com Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 15:57:18 -0400 Subject: Bruce Transportation (Now First Student) Search Dear Andy, Here is another report from the Research Department of the Down to Business Andy Johnson Show. There is a pattern of "We don't give a damn" with Bruce Transportation and First Student. I guess you know about the Emergency School Board meeting on Monday. Keep up the good and HARD work. Bill Lewis. Please carbon copy me if you forward this to Bruce and school board officials. Go ahead an leave my name attached. Maybe they need someone who knows how to do internet research. News - Wednesday, September 6, 2000 "Atkinson, Danville, Plaistow, Sandown children stranded by school buses that never came" http://www.fosters.com/www/a/news2000/sept%5F00/06/nh0906n.htm ATKINSON, N.H.(AP) The excitement of the first day of school turned into a tearful ordeal for many first-graders, who waited in vain for school buses that never came. Martha Stockman of Sandown waited with her children for 30 minutes before driving them and a neighbor?s child to school Tuesday. Her son, Gregory, started first grade. "I felt so bad, seeing all these little kids waiting in the street," she said. "My son?s been looking forward to riding the school bus since he was two years old." Dozens of children in Atkinson, Danville, Plaistow and Sandown waited for buses that never came when seven routes for Timberlane District schools had no drivers. Some kids were in tears. "We were really blind-sided by it," said Thomas McDonald, business administrator for the Timberlane School District. Timberlane schools received faxes Monday afternoon from the district?s bus company, First Student, stating there would not be enough drivers the next morning. Administrators didn?t see the faxes until Tuesday morning because of the Labor Day holiday. By then, it was too late. First Student did not return calls Wednesday, but McDonald said the company assured him it would have a plan in place for Thursday. Some drivers may have to double up routes, causing some pupils to arrive late to school, but they won?t be marked tardy. Children also may get home later than usual, McDonald said, but he said the situation should be ironed out during the next few days. "Certainly there is a shortage of drivers," McDonald said. "But we have a contract and they have an obligation to provide drivers or at least provide a plan." Dawn Baril of Sandown also drove her two children to school. Baril said she saw a group of middle and high school pupils waiting for their 6:40 a.m. bus. When she drove by again at 8:30 a.m., she said, they were still there. Ryan Breton, 6, a first-grader at Atkinson Academy, stood on a street corner with 11 other kids for an hour. His mother, Mary Breton, said Ryan had been looking forward to his first day of school all summer, especially riding the bus. "It?s part of the whole ?I?m-going-to-first-grade,"? Breton said. "My son was just very disappointed." "Bus company still below number of drivers it needs" By JONATHAN VAN FLEET, Telegraph Staff Thursday, December 21, 2000 http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=23090&SectionID=25&SubSectionID=377&S=1 On one day this year, the First Student bus company had 25 open routes. NASHUA - A few drivers called in sick, there were several special trips on the schedule, and not enough people to drive the buses. All administrative personnel abandoned the office and got behind the wheel instead. Cecelia Pierce - http://www.seacoastonline.com/2000news/6_11e.htm Pierce was involved in the same media project in which Flynn met Pamela Smart. An anonymous tip to police identified Pierce as an individual who knew the details of the Smart murder and ultimately agreed to wear a recording device during a conversation with Pamela Smart. That recording was presented as evidence at Pamela Smart's trial. In November of 1998, Pierce, who had since married, was discovered driving a school bus for Bruce Transportation that transported children in the Seabrook School District. Outraged parents forced Pierce, now using her married name, which neither the company nor her family would divulge, to be reassigned. "Bus accident sends three to hospital" By Alice Wood, Exeter News-Letter Contributing Writer http://www.seacoastonline.com/2000news/exeter/e9_8b.htm STRATHAM Three Stratham Memorial School students were injured Tuesday afternoon in a school bus crash at the intersection of Squamscott Road and Portsmouth Avenue. The accident involving the bus and another vehicle occurred at approximately 3:25 p.m. after school had let out for the day. The three children were transported by ambulance to Exeter Hospital, treated for minor injuries and released to their parents. The bus, owned by Bruce Transportation of Brentwood, was driven by Coral Stephens-Metcalfe. According to police, the driver failed to stop in time at the intersection and collided with a Dodge Ram driven by 47-year-old Arthur Grodan of Brentwood, whose vehicle was stopped in front of the bus. Other students on the bus escaped unharmed. Stratham Police Officer Christopher Call responded to the scene. While the accident is currently under investigation by the Stratham Police Department, no charges have been filed, Lt. Richard Wood said. Officials at Bruce Transportation were unavailable for comment. Assistant Principal Melanie Faulkner said busing problems were the major difficulty on opening day. http://www.seacoastonline.com/2000news/rock/r9_8a.htm Although they anticipated the usual problems such as some busses arriving late the first few days of school, Faulkner said they did not expect the number of communication problems they encountered the first day. Faulkner said the bus company, First Student, formerly known as Bruce Transportation, is experiencing a number of personnel problems and has recently hired several new drivers. This has resulted in a difference between what was put in writing and what is actually being done she said. Some established stops were missed on the morning runs, while some fifth-grade students were told to get off the bus that afternoon and walk home when the driver refused to enter a street he did not know was included on his route. But the biggest busing problem involving the school's first-graders caused a domino effect, impacting the rest of the students, Faulkner said. First-grade students were scheduled for early dismissal at 12:45 p.m., Faulkner said. Five buses were expected to take the students home, but only three busses showed up. Students riding the two late-arriving busses did not get home until approximately 2 p.m. causing Fremont students attending Epping High School and the Ellis elementary students to get home late as well. Faulkner said that when contacted, the two bus drivers said they didn't know that the first grade was to be dismissed early. Reynolds and Faulkner also discussed the crowded conditions on the middle school buses. The buses are not currently over capacity but some are at their listed limit for riders. Students are having difficulty getting on and off the bus as well finding sufficient seating. Superintendent Robert Bell noted that middle schoolers are bigger than elementary students but the same capacity rating is used for both grade levels. First Student experienced similar problems when the company came up short of drivers for bus routes in the Timberlane Regional School District as well. That district serves students in Atkinson, Danville, Plaistow and Sandown. "Students not hurt in crash" By Lara Bricker, http://www.exeternewsletter@seacoastonline.com KENSINGTON Seven students riding on a bus on their way home from the Kensington Elementary School were not injured last Thursday when police said their driver accidentally backed into a car as it was turning around. Police gave a verbal warning to bus driver Keith Metcalfe, 47, of 7 Colcord Pond Drive, Exeter, for unsafe backing, Kensington Police Sgt. Gregory Nye said. Metcalfe drives for Bruce Transportation. The accident took place at 3 p.m. after Metcalfe had pulled into Oak Ridge Road from Drinkwater Road to let a student off the bus. As Metcalfe was attempting to back onto Drinkwater Road and turn around, he struck a 1992 Geo Prism, driving by Joseph White, 58, of 23 Cherry St., Exeter. White had been traveling north on Drinkwater Road and was making a right turn onto Oak Ridge Road when he was hit. Nye explained that White was in Metcalfe's blind spot. White's car sustained moderate damage on the front quarter panel, but was able to be driven from the scene. Kensington police and fire responded to the accident and all of the children on the bus were released to their parents at the scene. "We were very fortunate in this circumstance that no one was injured, especially the children as they do not wear seatbelts on the bus," Nye said. "Good Samaritans assisted at bus crash scene Investigation continues; driver in fair condition" Wednesday, May 23, 2001 By BRENDAN MORAN Monitor staff Center Harbor http://www.cmonitor.com/stories/news/local/bm%5Fbus%5Faccident%5Ffollow%5Fup%5F20.shtml CENTER HARBOR The driver of a school bus that crashed after it went off the road Monday, injuring seven children, has been upgraded to fair condition at Lakes Region General Hospital. Martha Hanson, who suffered back injuries, had been listed in stable condition after the accident. Details of the accident scene emerged yesterday as the Center Harbor and state police continue their investigation into the cause of the crash that occurred just before 4 p.m. Ted Leclerc, the regional operations manager for First Student, a sister company to Bruce Transportation Group, declined to give any specific information about a recent safety inspection of the bus or Hanson's driving record. "At this point, all I can tell you is our investigation is ongoing. Police are investigating. We're cooperating with local police and state authorities," Leclerc said. Same accident as above http://www.theunionleader.com/Articles_show.html?article=2694&archive=1 "Ticket issued to driver in Salem bus crash" http://www.fosters.com/www/news1999/news99c/august/15/nh0815c.htm SALEM One of the drivers in this week?s school bus accident that injured 20 children has gotten a ticket. Nancy Fisher, a driver for Bruce Transportation, rear-ended another bus as they were carrying day campers from Canobie Lake Park on Tuesday. She told police her brakes failed. But Chief Alan Gould said investigators found the brakes were working fine. They gave Fisher a ticket for driving too close to the other bus. Twenty kids and a counselor were treated for minor injuries. They were from Westwood Day Camp in Stoughton, Mass. "Three students hurt in Stratham bus crash" By TERRY DATE Democrat Staff Writer http://www.fosters.com/www/a/news2000/sept%5F00/06/ex0906a.htm STRATHAM Three fifth-graders transported to Exeter Hospital were treated and released Tuesday after their school bus hit a vehicle stopped at a traffic light. More First Student Fiascos and Contact Info. for Public Officials: http://www.oocities.org/fltaxpayer/schools/costed2.html |
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