By signing this petition, we are requesting the North Haven Board of Education formally start the process of looking for a new transportation company.

Each school day, for many of our children,  starts and ends with a ride on a school bus. 

Here in North Haven we have just finished our 6th week of school for the 2023-2024 school year. While many things are off to a great start, one thing is certainly not going as well as we would like. Transportation services continue to be subpar and concerning. 

M&J Bus Company has struggled to provide acceptable transportation services for many years. They continue to blame the national bus driver shortage. The driver shortage is a problem, but all bus companies are facing this shortage. Many parents in town can see this bus company is not focused on attracting and retaining drivers. Further, it is more evident that the training of the driver staff to better manage and operate the buses, as well as the bus environment, has been ineffective. 

Without enough drivers, bus routes are being combined and our good drivers are being worked to the max and stressed out. The buses are overcrowded and the routes are way too long. Some children are on the bus for over an hour. Buses and vans are not showing up to stops on time, not showing up to schools on time at arrival and dismissal. All of this is affecting people’s jobs and childcare arrangements but most importantly, our children! 

Regardless of the driver shortage, M&J Bus Company is not providing the level of service the children and parents of this town need and expect them to provide. When parents call with concerns they are met with short answers and rude responses from the bus company. Communication is lacking when they know delays are expected. We pay this company millions of dollars and they need to be constantly supervised and micromanaged by our Superintendent. Our Superintendent should be spending his time doing other things. 

On top of all of this, M&J Bus Company’s incompetence in the hiring and training of drivers has led to some very serious safety issues. From pulling away from the stop prior to students getting to a seat to as serious as children being left alone sleeping on a van at the end of a route. M&J Bus Company has had numerous opportunities to make changes. They came up with new policies and procedures they said they would follow and didn’t. They changed management in an effort to improve operations, yet it has not improved significantly. 

M&J Bus Company’s contract with North Haven is for the rest of this school year as well as the 2024-2025 school year. But the parents of this town feel as though enough is enough! Our children deserve a safe and timely trip back and forth to school. Families deserve better communication. 

Again, by signing this petition, we are requesting the North Haven Board of Education formally start the process of looking for a new transportation company. During the time that the district is formally out to bid, M&J Bus Company will still have an opportunity to make improvements. It will also help the district prepare to make a change sooner if things continue the way they are now without significant improvement. Waiting out this contract should not be an option if safety continues to be at risk and M&J Bus Company can not do the job they were contracted to do.