New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Official: Bus driver gets ‘reprimand’
Allegedly left Bear Path school student at wrong stop
HAMDEN — A bus driver has been “reprimanded” after allegedly dropping off a Bear Path Elementary School student at the wrong location despite the student’s protestations, Superintendent of Schools Jody Goeler said.
The incident is under investigation,
according to a spokesman for First Student, the bus company Hamden uses.
It’s the latest snafu in a hectic back-to-school week that saw 300 students left without bus transportation on their first day of classes. Though all routes now are being covered, a driver shortage has put the district in a precarious situation, and students face the possibility of significant delays.
First Student spokesman Jay
Brock issued a written statement Friday saying the company aims to ensure transportation services operate as “seamlessly” as possible but “a need for drivers could affect some bus routes.”
But for Jaclyn Negri, whose son is a fifth-grader at Bear Path Elementary School, the problems extend beyond canceled routes and late pickups.
She said she arrived at her son’s bus stop Tuesday to find he was not there. When she called the school, officials informed her he had been placed on the wrong bus and the driver would be returning to Bear Path, Negri said.
She headed to the school to wait for her son, but roughly half an hour passed and the bus did not arrive, according to Negri.
Then, she said, her neighbor called to say Negri’s son was at that neighbor’s house.
Negri’s son later told his her he was placed on the wrong bus home even though he tried to protest,
Negri said, and that when the driver dropped him off, he told the driver the location was wrong.
Brock, the First Student spokesman, did not say how, or whether, the company disciplined the driver. Goeler said he was told there was a reprimand. The driver was not named.
“We recognize the anxiety that was caused for the parents,” Goeler’s email said. He said he had been informed of Negri’s allegations.
Negri said she believes her son was dropped off on Evergreen Avenue, a little more than a quartermile from home, she said, noting the road does not have sidewalks.
“There was probably about an hour of time where we didn’t really know where he was,” she said. “He was left far away... he was just completely alone — so it was really terrifying.”
Negri filed complaints with the state Department of Children and Families as well as the Hamden Police Department about Tuesday’s incident, she said.
“I believe (Negri) filed a DCF referral and DCF is investigating it at this point,” said Goeler. “It was absolutely inappropriate for the driver to do what (the driver is) alleged to have done.”
Christine Colaiacovo, the Police Department’s records manager, declined Friday to release the related report.
“That case is still open, so it’s not something we can release at this time,” she said in an email.
A message was left with DCF spokesman Gary Kleeblatt.
The district in 2019 rolled out a First Student app that allows parents to track their children’s buses, but Assistant Superintendent Chris Melillo noted the app does not report the location of individual students. Negri said she only just learned about the app. Tom Ariola, the schools’ chief operating officer, said it is up and running but must be updated every time a route changes.
Meanwhile, other bus-related issues have been plaguing the town’s school district.
Because of the driver shortage — a problem facing districts nationwide — even a single driver calling out sick can disrupt bus schedules.
When that occurs, another driver has to pick up the affected route after completing their usual assignment, according to Goeler.
“There are delays virtually every day. There are delays picking up children, and there are delays picking up students to bring home,” he said. “We had 82 routes at one point and we’re down to 68 routes because there aren’t enough drivers to drive the buses.”
Goeler and other officials wake up at 5 a.m. every morning to see which routes might be delayed so they can warn parents that buses might be late, sometimes by as much as an hour, the superintendent said.
Brock’s written statement indicated a number of drivers did not return to work this year. He indicated the company is offering a $5,000 sign-on bonus to aid recruitment efforts.
First Student was “working in partnership with the district to minimize the impact to families. Longer routes and wait times at bus stops are possible,” he said. “Parents, students and the entire community are learning new (patterns) as school buses enter back onto the roads.”
Principals and teachers are aware of the situation and working to accommodate students who might be late to class because of it, according to the superintendent.
“We are doing everything we can do to address the issue with the bus company,” he said.