LYNN — Superintendent Dr. Patrick Tutwiler hosted a virtual town hall Tuesday night to present a new transportation plan for the Lynn Public Schools.
Under the new plan, which is expected to begin by May 12, arrival and dismissal times for certain schools will be staggered.
The district announced last month it was temporarily suspending transportation for all students due to a lack of bus drivers — a conundrum that has heavily impacted special education students.
Tutwiler was joined on Tuesday by Phylitia Jamerson, the district’s administrator of special education, and Jessica McLaughlin, the deputy administrator of special education, to answer questions and explain adjustments that will accompany the new plan.
Jamerson said the schools were divided into three groups, all of which have different start times.
“We had to group the students by numbers,” she said. “There’s this many students at this school that have transportation in their IEP (Individualized Education Program), so we had to really carve it out and group it according to that.”
Jamerson said the three rotations will allow for the same 18 or so drivers, provided by North Reading Transportation (NRT), to take different routes to get the students to school.
The time change will only affect the special education programs, as it applies solely to students who have transportation in their IEP; however, those students will still receive the same amount of learning hours at school.
“The difference is about 15 minutes on average between the regular education and the special education students at that building within the program,” McLaughlin said. “They’re still getting the same amount of hours. It’s just adjusted.”
Jamerson said the district tried to keep students riding on the buses with their respective grades, but said parents cannot change the arrival and departure time given to their student’s school. Tutwiler and Jamerson have also urged families to reach out if they have not received an email, text or phone call about the scheduling changes.
The start date is scheduled for May 12 to account for mapping and scheduling the routes — usually a six to seven week process — but Jamerson said the district is attempting to start in three to four weeks.
According to Tutwiler, there will be transportation available for students enrolled in a summer program. He said those summer programs will likely be extended to compensate for the time lost last spring due to COVID-19.
Tutwiler said his understanding is that NRT has a group of drivers in its training program, so he believes the transportation issue will get better over time and plans to continue working with the company in the future.
NRT said it also expects its relationship with the city to continue, but noted the city has not been paying the bus company since March 2020.
According to a representative from NRT, the city breached its contract by failing to pay for the continued services provided by NRT throughout the pandemic.
“It is impossible to speculate as to where we would be now if the city had paid some or all of the outstanding amounts throughout the shutdown,” said a representative from NRT. “However, in those communities that have paid to keep drivers on throughout the pandemic, there have been no staffing issues because drivers have remained on the payroll without interruption.”
Although students were not attending in-person classes for the majority of the last year, NRT said fixed costs for all bus companies, despite no service during the school shutdown, include, but are not limited to, vehicle equipment, maintenance, excise tax and insurance, and rent and utilities.
NRT said it is committed to ensuring that every student will be driven to and from school and will do everything it can to minimize any disruptions or delays in the first few days.
“NRT is planning to perform whether or not the city pays — no matter how long it takes or how many routes each driver has to run. It is dedicated above all else to ensuring that no child is left on the sidewalk unable to get to school,” a NRT representative said.
The bus company said there were many reasons why it was difficult to get drivers back once they left, which prompted the company to pay a premium to its drivers. NRT said it shares the city’s frustration, and is confident it will be able to provide all necessary transportation for the city’s new plan.
The administration is still reimbursing families who drive their students at 57 cents per mile. Jamerson said if a parent can’t drive their child to school and has another family member or friend drive, that family is also entitled to a reimbursement. To arrange reimbursements, parents can contact Anny Feliz at [email protected] or 781-953-3090.
Allysha Dunnigan can be reached at [email protected].
