To: William Scott, Executive Director of Transportation, Rev. Dr. Eric Mack, Board of Trustees, Mrs. Kate Darby, Board of Trustees Vice Chair, Mrs. Cindy Bohn Coats, Business Specialist, Rev. Chris Collins, Mr. Todd Garrett, Mr. Kevin Hollin...
Reliable School Bus Service for Mount Pleasant
We are hereby requesting that CCSD revoke the contract with Durham Bus Company on the grounds that the basic needs of the contract have not been met. We ask that Mount Pleasant be removed from the existing contract and a new contract with an alternative bus company be established before the end of the 2018- 2019 school year.
Why is this important?
Durham Bus Company has failed to fulfill the obligation of its contract for many years. This inability to provide basic bus services to the Mount Pleasant school zones is greatly disrupting the education of our students. Late and or no-show buses have created a stressful and hectic environment for families all over the county.
It is estimated that over 1000 families have chosen to not use the bus service at all even though they would like to. This has resulted in a massive traffic issue in the Park West, Dunes West, and Carolina Park area. Many families do not have the option to drive their students to school, especially with a last minute notice. This causes parents and students an excessive amount of stress twice a day. The community has exhausted all effects to aid the bus company in solving this issue. Parents have organized several attempts to reach out to CCSD and Durham Bus Company, to offer parent support and professional advice as well as problem-solving strategies. Durham and CCSD have failed to collaborate with parents on this pressing issue.
We are hereby requesting that CCSD revoke the contract with Durham Bus Company on the grounds that the basic needs of the contract have not been met. Numerous families report only receiving on-time bus service 3 times a week. If parents choose to drive the students after waiting at the bus stop for an extended amount of time, the student is given a tardy due to the bus company's incompetence. On many occasions, parents are dealing with multiple "no-show buses" and must scramble to drive students to multiple schools. Students are overwhelmed with the stress of not knowing if they will have a bus to take them home. Although some of the time a bus returns late, this often causes the students to miss out on valuable education time. This has effects on before and after-school activities as well. We parents and students find Durham Bus Company and the Charleston County School board incompetent in the area of transportation.
Durham and CCSD have continued to blame the issue on a lack of drivers. This is not solely the cause. Inadequate management has set a standard of incompetence. Drivers have reached out to parents explaining that the buses are unreliable and unsafely mismanaged. Drivers who work multiple jobs and drive from a great distance, broken down busses, and extra routes have caused some drivers to lose their primary jobs. Durham Bus Company continues to recruit from the same demographic, despite recommendations to alter their hiring strategies to local retirees and churches and organizations in Mt. Pleasant. Under the current contract, Durham Bus Company is obligated to have a 10% backup staff available for sick or late drivers. This has not been met in years, as far as we can tell.
It is our understanding that CCSD has been withholding funds from Durham due to this lack of service. No explanation as to where those funds have gone has been made available. Parents spend countless hours calling and emailing in an effort to solve this ongoing crisis. Many of our students will be of driving age soon, yet overcrowded schools lack adequate parking and our children are not likely to obtain a parking pass, leaving the bus as the primary option. Parents have stressed that the bus issue has affected their own employment status as well. Our families deserve better than this.
The only alternative solution that we find acceptable is for Mount Pleasant to be removed from the existing contract and a new contract with an alternative bus company be established. If an alternative bus company is not willing to accept a contract with Mount Pleasant on the grounds that CCSD busses are inadequate, then those busses should be sold or relocated to other areas with lower student demand. This would allow for a new contract with a competing company to supply our growing Mount Pleasant with drivers and buses. We are asking for this new contract to be in place before the end of the 2018-2019 school year. Please support our students and families.
It is estimated that over 1000 families have chosen to not use the bus service at all even though they would like to. This has resulted in a massive traffic issue in the Park West, Dunes West, and Carolina Park area. Many families do not have the option to drive their students to school, especially with a last minute notice. This causes parents and students an excessive amount of stress twice a day. The community has exhausted all effects to aid the bus company in solving this issue. Parents have organized several attempts to reach out to CCSD and Durham Bus Company, to offer parent support and professional advice as well as problem-solving strategies. Durham and CCSD have failed to collaborate with parents on this pressing issue.
We are hereby requesting that CCSD revoke the contract with Durham Bus Company on the grounds that the basic needs of the contract have not been met. Numerous families report only receiving on-time bus service 3 times a week. If parents choose to drive the students after waiting at the bus stop for an extended amount of time, the student is given a tardy due to the bus company's incompetence. On many occasions, parents are dealing with multiple "no-show buses" and must scramble to drive students to multiple schools. Students are overwhelmed with the stress of not knowing if they will have a bus to take them home. Although some of the time a bus returns late, this often causes the students to miss out on valuable education time. This has effects on before and after-school activities as well. We parents and students find Durham Bus Company and the Charleston County School board incompetent in the area of transportation.
Durham and CCSD have continued to blame the issue on a lack of drivers. This is not solely the cause. Inadequate management has set a standard of incompetence. Drivers have reached out to parents explaining that the buses are unreliable and unsafely mismanaged. Drivers who work multiple jobs and drive from a great distance, broken down busses, and extra routes have caused some drivers to lose their primary jobs. Durham Bus Company continues to recruit from the same demographic, despite recommendations to alter their hiring strategies to local retirees and churches and organizations in Mt. Pleasant. Under the current contract, Durham Bus Company is obligated to have a 10% backup staff available for sick or late drivers. This has not been met in years, as far as we can tell.
It is our understanding that CCSD has been withholding funds from Durham due to this lack of service. No explanation as to where those funds have gone has been made available. Parents spend countless hours calling and emailing in an effort to solve this ongoing crisis. Many of our students will be of driving age soon, yet overcrowded schools lack adequate parking and our children are not likely to obtain a parking pass, leaving the bus as the primary option. Parents have stressed that the bus issue has affected their own employment status as well. Our families deserve better than this.
The only alternative solution that we find acceptable is for Mount Pleasant to be removed from the existing contract and a new contract with an alternative bus company be established. If an alternative bus company is not willing to accept a contract with Mount Pleasant on the grounds that CCSD busses are inadequate, then those busses should be sold or relocated to other areas with lower student demand. This would allow for a new contract with a competing company to supply our growing Mount Pleasant with drivers and buses. We are asking for this new contract to be in place before the end of the 2018-2019 school year. Please support our students and families.