Wyandotte Parents Make Emotional Plea to Prevent Outsourcing Special Education Busing

Parents, bus drivers and students fought back tears as they pleaded with Wyandotte Public Schools officials at a Board of Education meeting Tuesday night to keep special education busing in the district.

District officials have agreed to seek a request for proposals to potentially outsource district busing.

Sally Nantais of Wyandotte said her son has been bused by the district for more than 18 years.

"The Wyandotte busing staff, the drivers and the aides, are very important members of my child's team," Nantais said. "They are dependable. They are reliable and they take the time to understand each and every child and their disability and how it affects them."

School Superintendent Carla Harting said outsourcing busing would not result in the loss of any district jobs.

Parents said they were concerned new bus drivers might upset their special needs students' daily routines, which could cause behavioral issues.

At the meeting, district officials voted to approve tentative contract agreements with the teachers unions and maintenance employee and paraprofessionals unions, which includes bus drivers.

Harting said their goal when they entered into contract negotiations with the AFSCME Local 1055--the maintenance, transportation and custodial employees union--was to try to keep all their existing members working.

If busing is outsourced, Harting said bus drivers would be placed in positions within the district's operations department.

District officials are sending out a request for proposal to evaluate whether or not a contracted service could provide less costly busing in a more efficient manner--as per the contract agreement, according to Harting.

Steven Laboe, parent of a Wyandotte special needs student, said outsourcing busing would be extremely detrimental to all the special needs students.

"Continuity and consistency with any children with disabilities is paramount to their success," Laboe said.

Harting said budget woes are the main reason officials are considering outsourcing busing.

"The cost of maintaining and replacing vehicles, along with the unpredictability of fuel pricing, will continue to strain the district’s general fund budget," Harting said.

District officials are currently seeking proposals from transportation companies outside the district. After proposals are received, a committee within the district is expected to evaluate and interview transportation companies that submit proposals.

If it is determined that it's cost effective for the district to change its transportation, Harting said, a recommendation will be brought to the school board for approval.