Superintendent Provides Update On Busing Issues In East Brunswick

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — The first week of school in East Brunswick proved to be a “successful” one, barring the bus driver shortage that impacted schedules.

In the first week, athletic practices in middle schools had to be canceled and bus routes were delayed by 30 to 40 minutes.

Over the weekend, Superintendent Victor Valeski provided the community with an update on the district’s transportation issues.

The busing issues in East Brunswick were caused mainly after the contracted driver resigned and the school district was provided with no advance notice, according to Valeski.

Contracted drivers also arrived late, sometimes up to an hour, and in some cases were unprofessional and discourteous to parents at bus stops, Valeski said. Some contract drivers were also unfamiliar with their routes, school administration said.

But over the week, these issues were resolved.

Meanwhile, the school district is taking the following steps to address transportation issues:

• Transportation management has filled in to drive some bus routes.
• The transportation office has been staffed with additional personnel to answer phones. Calls vary in importance and priority and the district has intentionally organized its responses in priority sequence.
• An overflow of calls has been taken in the Superintendent’s Office. All phone calls and emails by parents and guardians are being returned.
• The transportation office has been getting new quotes for routes that remain unfilled.
• The school district is already working on transportation solutions for next year and beyond.

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