DPS parents vow to boycott transit firm

Detroit -- A group of parents representing 53 schools pledged today to boycott First Student Inc., the Cincinnati-based transportation company that netted a nearly $114 million contract over five years to bus Detroit Public Schools children.

Parents say they won't put their children on buses operated by First Student because of safety concerns. The company is on probation in Ohio for violating rules on bus driver background checks and training. Criminal charges were filed against several employees, including a First Student driver in Joliet, Ill., who was charged last December with allegedly giving a 14-year-old girl candy and $3 before fondling her.

"I will not place my child in the hands of a bus company that has a history of sexual molestation of children" parent LaTonya Lloyd said in a statement.

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She and other parents are asking for a meeting with Gov. Jennifer Granholm. They made the request at a press conference today called with members of the Coalition to Restore Hope to DPS and the DPS Board Advisory Committee. They want DPS to stop the implementation of the contract.

"These concerns are not valid at all," Steve Wasko, spokesman for Detroit Public Schools, said in an e-mail. "We are moving forward with First Student. Those working for First Student will be, for the most part, former DPS drivers. Parents are woefully being misinformed by those with other interests."

Granholm's spokeswoman, Liz Boyd, says the parents need to work with Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb on the issue because the governor doesn't have the authority to cancel DPS contracts.

"This group needs to take their concerns to Robert Bobb," Boyd said. "The governor isn't the superintendent of schools in Detroit. The state has appointed Robert Bobb as emergency financial manager. These are decisions under his purview."

First Student is based in Cincinnati. Its parent company, First Group, is based in Scotland.

"Safety is and has been our top priority," said First Student spokeswoman Bonnie Bastian, noting they transport 4 million students throughout North America and have 60,000 buses.

"We maintain our buses to the highest standards," she added. "Our drivers undergo extensive training on issues such as driving the bus and student behavior. They do extensive behind-the-wheel and classroom training. They go through rigorous background checks."

First Student was initially hired by DPS last April to complete an $85,000 transportation audit for the district through its management services arm, First Group. The audit recommended that DPS privatize all bus routes, and re-bid routes contracted out to three private vendors.

One of those vendors, Safeway Transportation, brought a lawsuit against DPS in U.S. District Court in March, alleging it was unfair for First Student to bid on the contract after its own audit recommended that the job be put out for new bids. Safeway, a Detroit-based minority-owned company, has provided bus service to the district for 35 years and employs 92 people. DPS is the company's only client and with the loss of the contract Safeway will likely have to shut down.

Safeway drivers have been protesting the contract between rallies in Lansing, school board meetings and in the courtroom.

The Coalition to Restore Hope is a group of parents, community members, teachers, and neighborhood organizations that support community based education, a parental involvement quota for principals, violence prevention in schools and year around schooling.

mschultz@detnews.com (313) 222-2310

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20100505/SCHOOLS/5050454/DPS-parents-vow-to-boycott-transit-firm#ixzz0o9JSJrYv