Broward school bus problems spark battle between union, management

Back-to-back weeks of botched bus service has turned school transportation into a hot-button political issue, plunging Broward School Board members in the middle of a bitter fight between management and workers.

The battles have been tricky for board members, most of whom received union support for their election campaigns and also hired Robert Runcie, a school superintendent with a business background, who pledged to clean up waste and mismanagement. Board members have been overwhelmed with angry emails from parents about numerous problems, including buses not showing up, being overcrowded or dropping kids off at the wrong stops. The School District had received more than 14,000 calls to a transportation hotline as of Friday.

"Right now everyone is blaming each other. I don't care about the blame. I care about getting this fixed," Board member Robin Bartleman said.

Board members are also dealing with the fallout of comments from Runcie and district Transportation Services director Chester Tindall, who have said sabotage by union employees is also to blame. Several Board members said there may be individual problem employees, but expressed doubt there is a union-orchestrated effort to do wrong.

So far, board member Nora Rupert, who voted against hiring Runcie last year, has taken the strongest stance against him and been the most outspoken in her support for the bus drivers' union. Rupert, a former district teacher, received $8,450 in contributions from employee unions during the 2010 campaign.

Critics have questioned whether Rupert's union ties have influenced her decisions to blast Runcie at meetings and call for his handpicked transportation to be reprimanded.

"I'm pro-union. I'm pro-everyone who supported me," Rupert told the Sun Sentinel. "But I'm not paying a debt to them to keep my job."

During the 2010 elections, board members Laurie Rich Levinson and Patricia Good received thousands of dollars from various unions representing district employees. All board members except Donna Korn have received at least some union support, a Sun Sentinel examination of campaign contributions showed.

The controversy over school transportation service is happening in the midst of four School Board runoff election campaigns, including those of incumbents Bartleman and Korn, who have been vocal in their criticism of how the district has handled the bus problems. That may not be coincidental, said board Chairwoman Ann Murray.

"Anybody who's running for office will say anything that will advance their position," Murray said. "I'm grateful I'm not running."

Bartleman and Korn say the fact voters will decide their fate on Election Day isn't a factor.

"It doesn't make a difference to me if I'm here a day after Nov. 6," Korn said. "The reality is this is a frustration for all our families in Broward County and as a sitting board member, I'm going to do everything possible to get this done right and get it done immediately."

Bartleman added, "Re-election or not, I'm a School Board member and accountable to parents and would be just as involved. Parents are angry, and I've answered all those emails personally, and I've done that for all eight years on the board."

Runcie has been looking to build his own base of political and community support as he grapples with the transportation problems and the drivers. He held a private meeting Monday night with members of Broward Workshop, which has many influential business leaders, to talk about how he's tackling problems he's says he has encountered in the transportation department, including nepotism, high absenteeism and out-of-control spending.

"After that conversation, we felt very comfortable that Bob Runcie is doing a remarkable job in trying to get his arms around this," said Allen Levy, a Broward Workshop member who is CEO of Great American Farms in Fort Lauderdale.

Some other community leaders have been more critical of Runcie, a transplant from Chicago. Broward Property Appraiser Lori Parrish said many of her employees have been affected by the lapses in school bus service, and she doesn't understand why board members have struggled to obtain answers from administrators on the scope and cause of the problem.

"Maybe you have some bad employees, but in light of previous reports, I wonder why that hasn't been cleaned out," Parrish said. "In my office, the buck stops with me. It's that simple."

Union members have called for the firing of Tindall, who they say is responsible for not assigning routes for drivers and students until the last minute and then changing them daily. Tindall and Runcie have accused union employees of sabotaging operations by feigning unfamiliarity with routes and purposely taking longer than needed to get from one stop to the next.

Runcie and Tindall "blew the opening of school and are not willing to take responsibility," said Dan Reynolds, president of the National Federation of Public Employees, which represents bus drivers.

One board member union officials accuse of betraying them is Murray, a former school transportation manager who is now chairwoman.

At an August 21 Board meeting, union representative Linda Lewis told Murray: "Shame on you. You're family."

In 2010, Murray received $1,500 from the political action committee affiliated with the Federation of Public Employees, as well as small donations from individual transportation employees. She received no union support in 2008.

"You have drivers who gave her financial support and helped her get to where she is," Lewis said in an interview. "We thought she would be the person who could enlighten others."

Murray said that while her heart is in transportation, she has two main duties as a School Board member: to set policy and deal with the budget.

"I don't get into management decisions," she said. "We hire someone for that."

Murray added that in her district in the southern part of the county, she hasn't received many complaints about bus service. Most compaints have come from northern areas, such as Coral Springs and Pompano Beach.

Database editor John Maines, columnist Mike Mayo and staff writer Megan O'Matz contributed to this report.

stravis@tribune.com, 561-243-6637 or 954-425-1421

Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/fl-school-board-bus-politics-20120831,0,5493587.story?track=rss

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