Millburn Busing Routes Are ‘Colossal Failure,’ School Superintendent Says

MILLBURN, NJ — The start of the school year has been a “colossal failure” for those who ride the bus in Millburn. But it’s going to get better, district administrators say.

That’s the message that administrators had for local parents and students after the first week of the 2017-18 school year, which kicked off with a series of bus-related transportation woes including reports of kids being dropped off at the wrong locations, in-town trips that took hours and drop-offs to locations without waiting adults.

Speaking at a recent Millburn Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Christine Burton said that the situation was a “a colossal failure,” and stated that the district would conduct a third-party investigation into the issue.

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“We want to be clear that these errors should never have happened and we are aware of the need to overhaul our bus process going forward,” Burton stated in a letter to local parents. “In the meantime, we are committed to working to finalize a set of bus routes that will provide safe and efficient transportation to and from school for all of our students.”

As the emails and phone calls mounted, Burton and Millburn administrators provided updates about the busing woes and the district’s response.

Some of the issues included:

• “The quality control over the routes failed.”
• “The software that we use identifies routes based on those students being bussed in each section of town. It created circular routes, and therefore created inexcusable delays.”
• “There were new drivers to the routes who needed to practice them further, however many of them have already identified inefficiencies that we are now incorporating into the revised routes.”
• “This year is different – a confluence of factors including a new school building, higher bus ridership and new traffic patterns in town further complicated the typically hectic Day 1 bus operations. These facts overwhelmed our software and our quality control failed to acknowledge them.”

On Sept. 10, Burton said that the district brought in expert consultants who worked through the weekend to develop new routes for Washington School and review all of the bus routes districtwide.

“In total, all 46 bus runs for the morning and afternoon routes (a total of 92 bus routes) were analyzed,” Burton stated. “They have assessed the routes for safety concerns along and across busy streets, intersections, route distances and numbers of students per bus. As a result of this comprehensive review, an additional route will be added to Washington School, and portions of some routes were deleted or combined with others to make them safer and more efficient.”

Burton continued:

“Over the next week, we will need to verify all of the directions and road test the new routes for accuracy in order to provide correct directions to our drivers. All drivers, district and contracted, will then complete a number of test runs to familiarize themselves with the routes. We will then distribute revised bus passes electronically for all students.”

Burton said that administrators expect the new routes will be implemented on Monday, Sept. 18.

Questions about busing in the district can be emailed to busing@millburn.org. Parents or guardians with emergency issues can call the district’s front desk at (973) 376-3600.

SHORT/LONG-TERM FIXES

According to Millburn administrators, short-term remedies for the busing woes include:

• A parent/chaperone was placed on each of the Washington School buses
• The chaperones each possess a cell phone and have direct communication with the Ed Center
• The chaperones will also be assist with correcting the routes

Permanent fixes include:

• “All of the routes are being re-worked and will be verified by a working group of community members and staff who are very familiar with the town streets, the new traffic patterns and the needs of students.”
• “Every bus stop will be reviewed for safety and efficiency in order that students are not at dangerous intersections or crossing busy roadways.”

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Photo: Millburn Public Schools