Bills would let school districts reject bus cos.
BY DAN NEWMAN
Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN - In response to more than one recent incident involving school bus companies, two area legislators have joined forces to unveil a bipartisan, seven-bill package aimed at making transportation safer for students.

Assemblywoman Amy Handlin (R-Monmouth/Middlesex) and Assembly-woman Linda Greenstein (D-Middlesex/Mercer) are co-sponsoring the bills, which include legislation that would disqualify school bus companies from bidding on transportation contracts if they have any criminal convictions, or if their fleet of buses fails safety inspections. Also, anyone with a record involving violent crimes or drug dealing would be immediately barred from having any contact with school children.

"It seems obvious to me that anyone who is charged with selling drugs to minors should have absolutely no contact with our children, and this is not negotiable," Handlin said.

In the fall, a bus aide who worked for Aberdeen-based Milu Bus Service was charged by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office for supplying methadone to a 15-year-old Middletown High School North student who passed out from using the drug. A further investigation concluded that the aide also tried to distribute Xanax on the bus, and that a driver allowed him to sell cigarettes to students on board.

Yet despite Milu's record, members of the Middletown Board of Education expressed frustration April 24 when they were forced by the state's competitive bidding laws to award a contract for bus routes to Milu, which was the lowest bidder. Milu withdrew its winning bid a few days later.

If the proposed bills were law, the Middletown school board would have been allowed to reject any bid by Milu. Middletown Interim Schools Superintendent Karen Bilbao said she was pleased with the proposed legislation, and felt it was important in light of what transpired in her district.

"Our children are the most important issue for us every day," Bilbao said. "Since everything occurred with Milu, we have implemented safeguards, such as spot checking on buses, to make sure that everything is being done correctly and properly. We've been aggressive on doing what we must to ensure that things are handled correctly."

Another component of the package would necessitate all drivers to undergo an annual physical, with the results going to the county superintendent. This provision comes in the wake of a recent incident when a Hamilton Township school bus driver suffered a seizure, leaving three students to take control of the bus.

"We must ensure that drivers are both mentally and physically qualified," Greenstein said in a press release.

Handlin noted the significance of two lawmakers, one from each side of the aisle, creating an alliance for the betterment of school children statewide.

"I thought it was significant to have Linda on my side," the Republican Handlin said of Greenstein, a Democrat who serves as the Assembly's deputy speaker. "She has a strong interest and has done considerable work on this topic in the past. She has seniority and leadership in the majority and so I do feel that this bill will get passed."