Bus Drivers, Monitors Start Petition Drive to Keep Valley View Busing Public

In an effort to save money, is considering outsourcing its transportation system to a private contractor — and the drivers who are currently transporting students each day say they want residents to be aware of what outsourcing could mean to the community.

Jim Canady is a Valley View bus driver and president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3057, the union that represents Valley View school bus drivers and monitors. Canady is spearheading a petition drive to make residents aware of the school district’s proposal and garner support for keeping Valley View’s bus services in-house.

The petition drive kicked off Saturday, with union members handing out informational fliers and asking residents to add their names to an online petition.

The petition states, in part:

“We, the undersigned residents of the Valley View School District, value our experienced and professional bus drivers who know their routes and know our children. We support keeping bus services under the direct control of the School Board, rather than contracting out to a for-profit vendor. Subcontracting the transportation of our children raises concerns about safety, quality and accountability. We don’t want our children’s safety sold out to the lowest bidder. We urge you to end your pursuit of subcontracting bus services.”

Canady said his goal is to gather 2,000 to 5,000 signatures and present the petitions to the school board before it makes a decision on the busing issue, which could be as early as Dec. 12.

“We are going house to house,” Canady said. “Two-man teams were out in Bolingbrook and Romeoville. We did about a two-hour stretch Saturday and will be out again the next two Saturdays.”

As Canady hit the streets Saturday with fellow bus drivers and monitors, he said he was a bit taken aback by residents’ lack of awareness that the school district was thinking of privatizing its transportation services.

“I was surprised to learn that a lot of people did not know what was going on,” Canady said. “Educating the public will be an ongoing process.”

Flo Estes, staff representative for AFSCME Council 31 in Chicago, worked with Canady to strategize ways in which to educate the public about the busing issue. And Council 31 has lent its support to Local 3057 members’ efforts by designing handouts and creating the online petitions.

“The petition drive began when the local union decided to campaign against privatization of bus services in Valley View,” Estes said. “The (Illinois) school code puts an obligation on the school district if they want to privatize. They must pay comparable benefits — and we don’t think the top two bidders, First Student and Durham, will be able to meet that.

“I don’t think Valley View taxpayers want to be penny-wise and pound-foolish when it comes to their children’s safety,” Estes added.

How much does the school district hope to save?

At the , Valley View administrators presented proposals from several private companies who could ultimately provide transportation services for the district. Projecting out three years and factoring in estimated reimbursement claims to the Illinois State Board of Education, Valley View has estimated yearly net savings of $611,219 by contracting with Durham School Services of Warrenville and $858,101 by hiring First Student Corporation of Naperville.

But Canady said there are factors other than dollars and cents to consider when deciding whether to privatize the school district’s busing.

“Valley View has done a great job building a model, running the transportation system correctly and hiring the right people,” Canady said.

He said the school district also leases state-of-the-art buses that are the best in the industry.

“If you look at our fleet versus First Student or Durham, ours comes out first,” Canady said. “We are very strong safety-wise. And we feel strongly about not tearing this model down. We should keep what we have.”

Canady said a meeting Tuesday between union and school district representatives “went very well,” and he can relate to the district’s dilemma of trying to provide student transportation with limited funds.

“The state is not providing (the school district) with the funding; the money is not there like it use to be,” Canady said. “Our membership understands that. When we can’t pay our bills, we are just like everyone else. But we are part of the community. Most of our drivers live in Romeoville and Bolingbrook, so our tax dollars go to the school system, the roads, etc., too.”

“Valley View’s target is to save $1.2 to $1.4 million — and they are looking at payroll, bus leases, the building, everything,” Canady said. “So now, they are also looking to see what the union will concede or give up."

The union president likened Valley View’s forced belt-tightening to financial troubles being experienced both nationally and globally.

“There is much uncertainty in today’s environment,” Canady said. “It seems like the little man is always being squeezed out. I’m not saying this is happening at Valley View, but good-paying jobs are hard to get these days. We are not a salaried group, so if we take pay cuts, there is an immediate effect because we are hourly.”

Canady said he and other union representatives will continue to meet with the school district over the next few weeks to try to find common ground on the transportation issue.

“I have to make sure we do our due diligence, predicated on accurate figures and facts,” Canady said. “I don’t back away from a fight or a situation that requires hard work on my part.”