A message from Parents to Improve School Transportation: Relax about bus strike but not about safety

PIST was an invited guest at the monthly membership meeting of school bus drivers’, escorts’, and mechanics’ Local 1181 ATU on November 22. This was clearly NOT a meeting to hold a strike vote.   The president went over the union’s position on Employee Protection Provisions but no date was set for a strike vote, let alone a strike.

PIST described how parents were made to worry all weekend by media reports--traceable to Mayor Bloomberg—that a school bus strike could or would happen on the 21^st.  On Monday, some students came home with forms requested updated emergency contacts specifically in case of a sudden strike.  President Michael Cordiello replied that never in the history of the local would they strike in the middle of the day and leave children stranded. 

Leaders of PIST and of the Community Education Council 31 in Staten Island are some of the parents who agree that job security for trained, experienced bus workers leads to a standard of quality and stability for our children.  Other special education parent groups are more focused on fighting service cuts disguised as ‘mandate relief’—for which PIST thanks and admires them—or are understandably upset by the prospect of disabled children missing school in the event of any strike. 

Even if one believes the unions are motivated only by self-preservation, aren’t their working conditions still our children’s travel and safety conditions? 

In that auditorium on Tuesday night, the nods and looks of concern on a rainbow of faces created a sense that these workers have much more empathy for school bus families than we ever get from the agencies in charge of pupil transportation.

Meanwhile, a school bus combusted in midtown Tuesday, shortly after breaking down and being evacuated. Thankfully, no one was hurt.  We have to wonder why a bus in such bad shape was on the road in the first place.  If Bloomberg can find $1.3 million to throw at the MTA to counter an undeclared yellow bus strike (NY Times 11/19/11), where is the investment into bus repairs/maintenance?  Where is the leadership to make sure bus evacuation drills occur twice a year as promised by Chancellor’s Regulation A-801? 

Back at the 1181 meeting:  a driver raised that her company had shown a training film that instructed drivers to check their bus battery, etcetera—tasks that should be assigned to a trained bus mechanic instead.  Would an inexperienced, non-union driver feel empowered to question this big company?

PIST thinks parents should take this moment when school busing is in the news to expose the root problems; to seek relief for families coping with bad routes (such as distribution of those alleged already-paid-for Metrocards to people with OPT complaints); to seek the truth about the bus fire and inadequate inspections; to call Bloomberg out for the things that have gone on in OPT; and to not let ourselves be used against a group of people who provide a vital support service to our children’s civil right to an education.  

What do you think?  Tell us at pistnyc@gmail.com or on Facebook at PIST NYC or call 347-504-3310.

Sam Pirozzolo: We need an Education Tea Party of parents against mayoral control

From the Bronx to Brooklyn, from Harlem to Tribeca, from Queens to Staten Island, public school parents are furious about Mayor Bloomberg's arrogant disregard for our views and his malignant educational policies. Check out the remarks of Sam Pirozzolo, President of the Community Education Council 31, at the Staten Island legislative breakfast last week, and what he said to state legislators about their extension of mayoral control:

I would like to thank the Staten Island Federation of PTA’s for holding this forum. I would like to thank all of the people in the audience and especially our elected officials for being here today.

As many of you know Staten Island school children have been under attack. We are under attack from a DoE that is unconcerned, uncaring, unyielding and unreliable. We are dealing with a mayor who rules our school system with outright disdain for parents, teachers and the very laws which govern our society. Let me give you a few examples of what I mean:

• Mayoral Control: Mayor Bloomberg made a case that school boards were corrupt and wasteful. He convinced the Legislature that he, as a wealthy and wise man, could fix our public school problem if we would just let him control the show. Nine years later, I now interpret his statement to mean, I want a piece of that action. We have seen the mayor spend millions upon millions of dollars in “no bid contracts”. We have seen dozens of if not hundreds of runaway contracts explode beyond their estimated spending limit.

• One contract with the Xerox Corporation was supposed to cost at most $1 million – but the Department spent close to $68 million – a 6,759 percent jump in costs. Another contract with Ideal Restaurant Supply, jumped from $15,000 to more than $852,000 – a 5,530 percent jump.

• During two fiscal years combined, the Department issued 372 requirement contracts, originally estimated to cost $325,236,416 but which exceeded those estimates by 25% or more. The final tab wound up more than $1 billion.

• Many recipients of the contracts - 127 of them – got the lucrative work without any competition because the Department didn’t put the work out to bid. Those 127 contracts were supposed to cost $195 million at most. But the Department spent $525 million on them.

That equals well over $1 billion dollars. Well, Mr. Mayor how many teachers, how many schools, how many children would $1 billion support?

If you think schools are the only place we’re getting screwed you are wrong. How about the $80 million boondoggle with the City Time project?

When mayoral control was up for renewal two years ago, I testified, hundreds of parents throughout the city testified before the Assembly education committee. Mr. Cusak, Mr. Titone, you sat on that committee. You heard from hundreds of parents telling you that checks and balances were needed to protect our school system.

CEC 31 sent our testimony to every elected state official on Staten Island. We did not receive one return phone call to ask what we thought may help. Our pleas, and the pleas of hundreds of other New York parents fell upon deaf ears.

What did this mean to Staten Island? We have lost a 40 year variance to bus our 7th and 8th graders to school. We had to keep 650 students from PS 36 home for three days, before the mayor agreed to replace leaking toxic PCB emitting light ballasts that were threatening our children.

We are seeing the proliferation of charter schools, co-locations and school closings around the city. Schools on Staten Island are constantly being short changed.

Now our mayor is asking the State Senate and Assembly for permission to fire “unproductive senior teachers”. Well I have to tell you that I agree with that 100 percent; however there are already systems in place to do just that. Just to be clear, I am not advocating for teachers or the UFT with my next statement, I am advocating for our children.

I say to our legislators, don’t you DARE give the mayor the power to fire anyone. He has proven with his past actions that he cannot be trusted. Most politicians elected for their last term are considered lame ducks, but not Mayor Mike, he acts as though he will be around for a fourth term and I am sure he can buy that too.

Before I go let me remind you that we need educational reform. We need checks and balances on Mayoral Control. We need an EDUCATIONAL TEA PARTY. We need is a bill introduced in the Assembly and Senate that seeks to curb Mayoral Control. Parents: these are the people who are supposed to fight for you.... sitting right there. Tell them what you want.