About The Owner-Operators

The Board of Education is slowly making its way to a decision on a controversial five-year transportation contract that takes effect July 1 next year. The controversy has centered on whether the school board will award the contract strictly on dollars-and-cents considerations, or whether it will listen to a growing chorus of townspeople who want the school district to keep the current owner-operator school bus system, even if it means paying a premium.

This week, the school board heard from an “interview committee” that met with the four lowest bidders, including the owner-operators. That panel rated the bidders on various criteria, giving its best ratings to two firms: First Student headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, with local operations throughout Connecticut and the nation; and Torrington-based All-Star Transportation. The report heightened the urgency of a grassroots campaign to divert the school board from its apparent course to abandon the owner-operator bus system in Newtown — a system its supporters say is unique and superior to the transportation services found elsewhere in the state and nation.

The drive to replace the owner-operators has been orchestrated by the school district’s Business Director Ron Bienkowski, who made clear from the earliest discussions on the issue that he wanted to do away with the owner-operators once and for all. His deep involvement in transportation policy discussions of the school board, persistently selling the idea of “structural change,” took him well over the line from adviser to unabashed advocate. He told the board last month “there are better deals out there,” adding, “The goal here is to have a single contract, not multiple contracts” as there currently are with the owner-operators. He cautioned the board against being swayed by feelings or politics as it considered the issue.

We are certain that it is not the job of a business director, superintendent, or any other hired hand to be telling a board of elected representatives what their — and by extension, the town’s — goals should be. As for considering the feelings or politics of the town, we would think that would be one of the primary responsibilities of a Board of Education. The “feelings” of the community on this issue are clear. Hundreds of parents, former and current town officials, and both the Democratic and Republican town committees have informed the school board that they stand squarely behind the owner-operators in their bid for a new contract. So, why again should it be the goal of elected representatives to discount the feelings of those they represent?

This truly is an emotional issue. And while people do love money, they love their children more. School buses are not a commodity; they are rolling child-care facilities. It is not enough for the drivers to carry the appropriate papers and insurance; they need to carry the trust of parents. Through their long record of service and literally going the extra miles, Newtown’s owner-operators have earned that trust. It’s a qualification no other bidder has, and to ignore it would be a mistake without remedy. It would unravel an alliance and network of individuals and their beloved buses that would never again be available to the children of Newtown.

Yes, we can always “unelect” those who have taken bad advice to numb themselves to their own town’s feelings, but unfortunately we will be unable to undo the mistake they are about to make.