District’s bus drivers stage sick-out following layoff decision

TRENTON, N.J. — About half of Trenton Public Schools’ bus drivers called in sick last Thursday after a decision was made to lay off nearly 30 members of the district’s transportation staff.

The district employs 15 full-time and five part-time bus drivers as well as seven bus aides and two administrative employees, all of whom are expected to be laid off as of June 30, The Times reports.

The Trenton Public Schools board of education voted last Monday to retain the drivers, along with about 150 other workers, but state fiscal monitor Marc Cowell overturned the board’s vote last Wednesday, saying the budget didn’t allow the positions to remain on the payroll.

Everett Collins, the district’s director of buildings and grounds, told The Times that the fact that so many drivers failed to come to work meant that drivers who did come to work had to assume many more routes than normal, which delayed bus service for many children across the district.

He also noted that the district employs two or three substitute bus drivers, but that was not sufficient to pick up the slack.

Raymond Broach, interim superintendent of schools, addressed the issue in a letter to parents, writing, “We are experiencing a job action among our bus drivers. This is causing delays in the pickup and delivery of our students, and in some cases, not picking up at all.

“As we work on rectifying this situation, your child’s school will notify you, on a daily basis, as to the status of transportation for the day. Unfortunately, the window of time for notification for morning pickup is very limited, as we do not know until early morning whether or not the bus drivers will report for work. Certainly, as soon as humanly possible, we will notify you.

“We are extremely sorry for this untimely inconvenience. I kindly ask for your patience and understanding as we work to resolve this situation.”