Special needs student transport criticized

Kings Schools Transportation Authority should give itself an F for the way it is running transportation services for special needs students, according to a grand jury report released Monday. The authority -- a joint powers entity formed in 2004 by all 14 school districts in Kings County -- has basically "ignored" earlier grand jury recommendations in 2005, resulting in lack of oversight, lack of a formal complaint procedure and lack of effective monitoring of the contractor to ensure safety of pupils, the report concluded. Other findings included public meetings without proper notification and a gap between policies and practice.

The report's key recommendation: Understand the contract, follow its provisions and evaluate the contractor's performance to ensure compliance.

"Through the course of our investigation, it became clear that most, if not all, problems could be solved by KSTA simply following the provisions in the contract and monitoring (Student Transportation of America, Inc.) service," the report said.

Responding to the report, Paul Terry, Hanford Elementary School District superintendent who chairs the authority board, agreed some procedural improvements could be made.

"Obviously, we could always improve the general oversight of our operation," Terry said. "We'll take these types of recommendations into consideration and find ways to improve our system."

Terry, however, defended the quality of the authority's service and said the grand jury report is wrong in implying the operation's safety standards are somehow compromised.

"The inference that the buses of our transportation system are not operated in a safe manner -- I don't believe it's the case," Terry said. "We'll be responding to that."

The grand jury investigation was prompted by citizen complaints about the school buses for special needs students being unsanitary and concerns about questionable safety practices by the drivers. Interviews with families revealed a complicated, unsatisfactory procedure for resolving safety issues, the report said.

The authority transports about 300 students twice a day all across Kings County, from Hanford to Avenal.

"We do transport a lot of children, and we have a track record of transporting children not only efficiently but safely," Terry said.

But the grand jury found no evidence that STA buses were inspected or its drivers were trained through a safety program approved by the authority.

Terry said the bus drivers do participate in training and buses do get inspected by the California Highway Patrol to meet the Department of Motor Vehicles regulations. Moreover, all buses are repaired by the fleet operation of one of the authority members, he said.

The authority has a contract with Student Transportation of America, Inc. to provide rides for special-needs children from all 14 school districts in the county.

The grand jury report spells out what it says is a clear deficiency in accountability for the company's operation.

There is no one monitoring and evaluating the work performance by STA, inspecting vehicles nor enforcing the safety standards, the grand jury concluded.

"Once the contract was signed, KTSA's immediate obligation was to oversee the transportation program," the report said. "This was essential to ensure that the district's students were safe and that the program was being administered property. Problems can often surface as a result of an accident, special investigation, or lawsuit."

It turns out that there is a pending lawsuit against the authority filed nearly a year ago.

In May 2007, parents of a pupil sued the Hanford Elementary School District, Kings County Office of Education and Kings Schools Transportation Authority as well as Student Transportation of America, seeking damages.

Details of the case are unclear as the case file was unavailable from the court this week. But the trial is set for October, court records show.

Meanwhile, the grand jury is further recommending that the Kings Schools Transportation Authority take the following steps:

hire a transportation coordinator who can fill the communication gap between parents and schools;

revise its policy documents and contract so that the authority, not the contractor, takes the responsibility for the program operation;

monitor and evaluate the performance of the contractor and its compliance;

properly notify the public of its quarterly meeting time and location; and

establish a formal complaint procedure.

The authority did adopt a uniform complaint procedure last fall in response to parents' demands, Terry said. Also, every parent is informed of due process rights when a child is referred to special education testing, he said.

However, revising documents, more oversight and better meeting notification and hiring of a transportation coordinator are something that the authority could consider implementing, Terry said.

John Stankovich, superintendent for the Kings County Office of Education, gave a similar response.

Although the Office of Education is not a member of the authority, it runs Shelly Baird School, which provides education to children with special needs throughout the county.

Stankovich said he will actively seek to discuss the issue and hopes to effect necessary changes.

"I will meet with the members of the authority and hopefully we'll modify procedures so that any mistakes, if there were any, will be corrected," Stankovich said.

What’s your experience?

Send an e-mail to Sentinel education reporter Shannon Milliken (smilliken@HanfordSentinel.com) or call her at 583-2424.

(May 13, 2008)