Salem School Committee Votes To Fully Privatize Bus Routes

SALEM, MA — Salem Public Schools will fully privatize its bus services over the next three years after the School Committee voted 4-3 to accept Superintendent Steve Zrike's proposal to phase out the district-run fleet and award the full contract to NRT Bus Inc.

Mayor Kim Driscoll cast the deciding vote on the motion during a special meeting of the School Committee late Friday afternoon.

Those who voted yes on awarding the contract to NRT, which has shared the routes with Salem Transportation in recent years, said it was a difficult decision based on the greater priorities of the district and the cost of maintaining an aging bus fleet in need of substantial repair and replacement over the next few years.

Those who voted no said the district owed the drivers and monitors after their work during the coronavirus pandemic year and that further investments should be made to bolster the transportation department rather than eliminate it.

Driscoll, Mary Manning, Kristin Pangallo and Ana Nuncio voted to phase out the current hybrid system and award the full contract to NRT, while Manny Cruz, Jim Fleming and Amanda Campbell voted no on the proposal.

"I am especially troubled by the timing," Manning allowed. "Right after the way that so many of these people stepped up for the students and the families and the Salem Public Schools during COVID, the timing of this couldn't feel, probably, worse.

"I am not implying that anyone in this situation would not want to stay status quo. But given the big picture of the transportation department right now, and in the foreseeable future, we've reached a point where we can't keep the status quo. Personally, I regret that very, very much. I just don't see a way out of it."

Driscoll echoed many of the same sentiments and rejected the notion that the vote was anti-union, but that it was a practical necessity.

"We value the people that work here," she said. "It's one of the things that makes this decision so hard. No one is taking it lightly. I believe our superintendent and our assistant superintendent are very capable people. I believe they think that they are doing what is in the best interest of the district. I believe the employees are advocating for what they think is in their best interest in the union.

"I understand that. But when it comes to school the committee is charged with making the best decisions for all the people involved. Primarily, that is going to be kids and families. Employees too, but kids and families primarily. ... At times, like right now, those decisions are not easy. This one is not."

Both Driscoll and Zrike said that affected employees will all have the opportunity to continue working in different roles in Salem Public Schools, for the city, with NRT as a driver or monitor or accept an enhanced early retirement offer.

While the phased-out proposal is expected to save the district $150,000 a year over five years, Fleming argued "this is a people issue, not a money issue" and blamed any operational struggles on "a management problem" of the department.

Cruz similarly argued that the district should put more money into its transportation department, not eliminate it.

"I've looked at the numbers in respect to what it would take for the maintenance and the appropriate levels of staffing," Cruz said. "That's a public investment. ... From a timing perspective, I think about those employees and what they've contributed. Now at the end of that tunnel with the pandemic, now we're looking at eliminating positions that folks have worked really hard to bring into the district?"

Under the hybrid model about to expire, NRT operates about two-thirds of the bus routes for the district, while the transportation department operates the rest — including most of the special education services.

The 10 people who spoke during the public comment session all cited a desire to maintain stability for the district's most vulnerable students as a driving force behind wanting to keep the hybrid system intact.

Under the phasing out, Zrike said initially 12 of the 22 current Salem Transportation employees will retain jobs for a period of time. He said four were expected to retire and six will be offered other positions.

He said during his presentation that the department is not sustainable in its current state.

"I don't have confidence we can run a safe, reliable and consistent transportation department as early as this summer," he said. "The department is running on fumes. Our buses are in dire need of repair."

Zrike said the cost to replace a bus is between $65,000 and $100,000 per vehicle.

The union representing the drivers and monitors held a rally outside City Hall on Thursday criticizing the pending vote and the lack of public input in the process leading up to it. Union supporters also expressed frustration the virtual meeting was held at 3:30 p.m. on Friday — when the drivers and monitors could not participate because they were on their afternoon routes.

"While we are disappointed in the outcome of today's vote, we will continue to fight for the 22 Salem transportation workers," John Killoy, AFSCME Council 93 communications director, said in a statement to Patch Friday night. "The way the meeting was conducted was a disgrace and a disservice to the dedicated employees the committee just voted to terminate.

"To not only hold the meeting at a time when those impacted could not participate, but to cut short important debate because committee members had other obligations is an insult. Their obligation as an elected school committee official should be to the families of Salem. We will make sure that Salem voters, and especially every union household in Salem, know the manner in which this decision was made and how the committee voted."

Fleming, who had previously come out in support of the union's efforts to save the positions, said during the special meeting that 22 affected employees were "being put under the bus."

"I don't think that's the way the School Committee should treat its employees," Fleming said.

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)

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