Politics & Government
Valley View Bus Drivers’ Union Presents Petition to School Board
Union members have gathered 1,600 signatures in support of keeping district busing in-house.
Jim Canady, a 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, presented a petition to the board of education Monday night.
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.”
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Union members began the petition drive to make residents aware of the and to gather support for keeping Valley View’s bus services in-house.
“We decided to take this to the people,” Canady told board members Monday. “We have about 1,600 signatures from parents, teachers and concerned citizens. We cannot put a price on the safety of our children.”
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Reiterating Canady’s safety concerns, a father recounted a story from several years ago when a driver for First Student left his special-needs child alone on a bus parked at the company’s hub.
“It was a very scary situation,” the father said. “We have to ensure the safety of these kids.”
Valley View First Student Corporation of Naperville and Durham School Services of Warrenville to replace its current in-house transportation system.
School board member Rick Gougis said his 7-year-old daughter rides a bus to and from her Valley View school every day, and assured those gathered at Monday’s meeting that he is as concerned as any parent in the district about the safety of all students.
“It has not even been decided that we are going to do this (outsource busing),” Gougis said. “And even if we do, it may not be First Student.”
Canady said he and other union members will continue to gather signatures on the petition until the board makes a decision on the busing issue, which could be as early as Dec. 12.
What do you think? Would outsourcing bus services raise a safety concern? Or are you OK with the district saving money in this case?
