Bankrupt LI Bus Company Sues 47 School Districts For Non-Payment

RONKONKOMA, NY —Baumann Bus Company operated on Long Island for 50 years but the widespread school closures last spring due to coronavirus led to the school bus company's bankruptcy in April. Now the family-owned bus company is suing 47 districts for non-payment, saying that although the schools closed due to the pandemic, the bus company should still have been paid as part of their contractor's contract.

The company, headquartered in Ronkonkoma, laid off 900 bus drivers last April.

Baumann Bus Company joined Acme Bus and Baumann & Sons Buses in a joint lawsuit against the school districts in both Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

Richard Hamburger, the lawsuit's attorney, told Newsday: "Every school district employee in the State of New York was paid. The only people who didn’t get paid in the school districts were the contractors."