Late Salem Bus Proposal Would Retain Some District Positions

SALEM, MA — A Salem Public Schools transportation counterproposal that would retain some in-house bussing services within the district for the next three years was pitched during a meeting between the administration and the union representing 22 affected bus drivers and monitors on Wednesday.

The counterproposal comes two days before the Salem School Committee is set to have a special meeting to vote on a new three-year contract for NRT Bus Inc. that would have outsourced all bussing services in the district.

Superintendent of Schools Steve Zrike told Patch late on Wednesday that the new proposal would retain some bus service within the district and up to 11 driving and monitoring positions. He said the remaining affected employees will be offered an early retirement option or another non-transportation position within the district if they elect not to work for another bus service.

"It doesn't save as much money but it is more responsive to the staff that works in that department," he told Patch. "It's a more gradual transition, but it would ultimately transition to us contracting out the entirety of the service."

(MORE PATCH COVERAGE: Contentious Salem Schools Bus Contract Up For Vote Friday)

While Zrike said that the new plan "works in the best interest of our kids and employees," two drivers who spoke with Patch on Wednesday said it was nothing more than the district "throwing us a bone" to avoid the public backlash of taking away good, union jobs and causing disruption for the special education students who are most familiar to the drivers and monitors.

"The problem is that does not cover nearly what we need to do for the special ed kids," said driver Brenda D’Eon, who on Wednesday was helping make signs for a City Hall protest on the issue scheduled for Thursday afternoon. "Their suggestion and proposal doesn’t cover anything that needs to be covered.

"The fact is that they want to privatize and get rid of us all. Within three years, there will be no more Salem Transportation."

Zrike does not dispute that the current hybrid system will be phased out and replaced with the type of fully outsourced system used in many other districts. Salem Transportation currently splits routes with NRT, but he said the model does not meet the growing transportation needs of the district.

"We have extensive transportation needs," he said. "We have a greater need for transportation than ever before. This gives us the most efficient, and more importantly safe, reliable and consistent approach to transportation for students."

Jeannie Beaulieu, who has been driving in Salem for 30 years, does not agree.

"It's like he's just throwing us a bone to keep some of the busses to make us feel better in how our children are going to be handled," she told Patch. "But I know what our kids need and right now we're strung out as it is.

"Whenever the district has needed something, they've come to us. We've been there for them. Now we want to take care of our children."

D’Eon said that while "there's always hope" the School Committee will side with keeping the full Salem fleet at Friday's meeting, she "has to be the pessimist at this point."

"I feel they are going to go with this new proposal and phase us out in three years," she said. "What they are proposing still does not accommodate everyone.

"There's a lot of shadiness going on there."

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)