District 135 Parents: 'Fire this Bus Company Now'

Orland Park parents packed into the Center School gymnasium Thursday to demand the school board squash its contract with a bus company after a week of what even board president Joe La Margo called “unacceptable service.”

Drivers blasting profane music, rolling through stop signs, entirely missing stops and getting lost while en route were among hundreds of concerns from parents, voiced both during the meeting and through an online survey.

A petition was started to terminate the contract with Positive Connections, and many parents vowed not to allow their children aboard a bus until something was done.

“I didn’t put my daughter on my bus this morning,” said parent Teresa Shinnick on Friday morning. “I drove five kids to school this morning.”

Parents wanted action taken immediately during Thursday’s meeting, which La Margo said was impossible due to the district’s need to make other arrangements to bus its students.

“We’re angry, we’re frustrated, and we are going to take the appropriate action,” La Margo said. “But we also have to take the action in an appropriate manner.”

The district might hire a company to provide emergency services to replace Positive Connections, as they seek out other bids for the long-term. La Margo said he expects that action of some sort will be taken at the next special meeting, to be held Wednesday at 7:30 at the Center School Gymnasium.

The relationship between the district and Positive Connections is a new one. The subsidiary of New Jersey-based Student Transportation has provided bus service in Consolidated High School District 230 for more than a decade. District 135 officials inked a three-year deal with them with projections of saving $200,000.

The board sought out bids for a new provider after Illinois Central School Bus Co. last year filed a formal request that they do so. District 135 had used American Bus Co. for more than 10 years, and Illinois law allows a competitor to request a bidding process when a school district has had a contract with one company for five consecutive years.

Positive Connections had the lowest bid, which dictated that the board select it as its provider.

“There was nothing that would prohibit us from entering into a contract,” La Margo told Patch. “They met everything we said that we needed. The board did not want to part ways with American Bus Company, but by law we had to go with them.”

In its contract, the district included n out-clauses, in the event that the company was not performing to the district’s pre-disclosed standards.

“We believe at this point in time that there is a breach in contract,” La Margo said Friday.

The board has set in place temporary measures to address parents’ concerns on some of the more problematic routes. Administrators have visited the bus depot in the early morning hours to ensure smooth starts. Both administrators and teachers have ridden aboard the buses with students to reassure passengers and parents. The school bus company has also deployed representatives to ride along the routes.

“At the end of the day, we shouldn’t have to do that,” La Margo said.

Minor improvements have been made throughout the week, he said, but “not to the point of our satisfaction.

“It’s completely unacceptable with the problems and concerns that are occurring.”

A representative from Positive Connections addressed the angry parents Thursday.

“We want to resolve these issues as best we possibly can, and we are happy the district has stepped in to help,” said Aaron Halcomb, Positive Connections’ general manager. “It is our goal to give you the service you deserve, and we are making strides toward that every day.”

Shinnick told Patch her eighth-grade daughter was flung to the back of the bus after the driver hit the gas before she was seated. That driver also allegedly warned students: “Every one of you better be at your bus stop 10 minutes before (pickup time) because I can’t make this route.”

All buses are equipped with cameras, and in instances where parents felt their children’s safety was at risk, or where loud music might have been played, La Margo said the district will review the tapes. He also reminds parents not to step inside a bus or confront a driver. Engaging with a driver will further delay the bus from completing its route in a timely fashion.

“Every complaint form we received, we read, and those forms also went to the bus company,” he said. “We heard them, we’re working on addressing that.

“We understand, it’s frustrating. When you’re waiting for your kid and the bus is late, you worry about it. ... We are on top of this. The safety and wellbeing of our students is our number one priority.”

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