Parent Post

I don't see much news about the transportation coordinator losing her job! The position has been reposted for about a month now and they have had applicants apply but still no response from what I hear. I over heard one of the bus drivers and maintenance workers talking the other day that they doubt they will hire anyone because the rumor is the head of operations wants his secretary to take the position but she wont due to the lack of pay. It seems they will take anyone for this position with or without experience.

Our Reply

Maybe they are taking their time so as to not repeat the mistake they made last time.  Now maybe people will appreciate the job Tony and all of the bus drivers did for us in the past.  It is also why we consider the bus drivers the largest group of unsung heroes in the school district.

November 10, 2006

Parent Post 1

I thought the position was "Transportation Director" at the time when Tony responsibilities changed. Is that true?

Parent Post 2

Why is the position now qualified to be filled by a "transportation coordinator" when previously it was a position held by a "director"? It sounds as if the job was "reclassified" to lower the pay scale. I imagine that is why the person who was filling in didn't accept the position.

Our Reply

In 2005 and before there were two positions the Director of Grounds/Transportation/Maintenance and Transportation Coordinator.In 2006-07 the school district started with the positions of Director of Operations, Director of Maintenance, and Transportation Coordinator. At the board meeting on May 8th the board voted on approving 10 additional days/year for the transportation coordinator. At the board meeting on June 12th the board voted on the amended salary support schedule for the Transportation Coordinator. At the board meeting on June 29th the board voted on the revised salary for the Transportation Coordinator. At the board meeting on September 11th the board voted on transferring the current Transportation Coordinator to Bus Driver effective September 12th. So the best that we can decipher is that the position was always a Transportation Coordinator and that it was held by a person other than Tony. On September 12th when the Transportation Coordinator was transferred the position was filled by the Interim Transportation Coordinator who rejected the offer to take the position fulltime. We assume this since there is no mention of the Transportation Coordinator on any board agenda. The position was then posted as of October 10th. November 13th board meeting agenda should be posted tomorrow and we will see if there is any mention of the position being filled. 

November 9, 2006

Parent Post

>> "I also heard there were several other applicants that were more qualified than she was for the position."

Well, "several" is an overstatement. There were not "several" applications in total. I never saw the position advertised, did anyone else? "I also heard that it was offered to several other people but the pay was not enough for the position." Again, "several" is a gross overstatement. It was offered and turned down by 1 person.

>> "I have heard that there are a lot of bus drivers very upset about the whole issue also."

There are several. The acting coordinator that was in the position for a month did a great job and the drivers loved her.

"And it is a very poorly run family business at that. It is a shame that Tony left. He did a wonderful job, driving when needed, running bus routes that worked and were not under/over crowded."

Who all was involved in this year\'s routes? The people I have talked to have told me that the VersaTrans software generated the routes and they were hand tweaked from there. There is (still) an issue that the new student software is not providing data to VersaTrans with the new students that enrolled after the initial data load (over 250 students). So, VersaTrans can only deal with the data it has and it's incomplete. Putting the link from the new student software to VersaTrans was requested last summer. As far as I know, it's not in place yet. That information was given to me when I talked to the Transportation personnel at the beginning of school regarding routes in my neighborhood. Now,as far as the routes. Yes, they did change a lot this year.

When you have the influx of students as we've had AND bring a new school online, that's inevitable. I had experience in the trucking software industry dealing with this very type of thing. It's EXTREMELY complex and not nearly as simple as everyone thinks. It's not just an afternoon task. The goal is to come up with an overall solution that\'s best for the district. This will frequently lead to some individual situations that are not perfect. Believe it or not, we all do a similar thing in our lives.

Think of having a car full of kids and asking which fast food place to eat at. You'll have all sorts of suggestions. But ultimately, you have to come up with a solution that makes the most kids happy, and, from your own point of view, requires the least amount of driving and the least amount of money spent on the meal. Now, complicate this with multiple locations to drop students off and make it fit in a time constraint. You could well go through a couple of iterations trying to decide where you're going to eat. Some trial and error, some negotiations. Then some kid finally relents and agrees to eat at a place that\'s not his/her favorite. While that person doesn't have a perfect solution, overall it's the best for the family.

The bus routes are the same way. Some stops aren't absolutely perfect, but overall it's the best. Can it use some tweaking? Sure. Will they? I bet so, given some time and calm discussion. Also remember that no matter how much time and effort is spent, there will NEVER be a perfect solution. "The software itself is not the end-all of answers. It seemed that the person in charge of the busses didn't quite grasp this." In fact, the people I've talked to there do know that the software isn't perfect and that it doesn't generate perfect routes. They know the routes can can use some adjustments. My perception is that they are aware of reality and do care about the students and their safety.

Our Reply

I am not sure where you are going but I do have some answers. As for the job being posted it was on the school district’s website and as a matter of fact is still listed as an open position on the website. www.deercreekschools.org/employment.htm As for the actual number of applicants and who the job was offered to I would be impressed if anybody outside of the school’s administration knows the actual number for either.

As for the 250 extra students that were not in the system remember that is 250 students broken out over 5 schools with the majority of those students being in the elementary schools. There is no doubt that the addition of a third elementary school has a huge affect on the scheduling but how does it change the middle school?

For the record we called and asked about our kids and the bus they were on and was told that the software works and we were going to have to deal with it. If we didn’t like we can drive our kids ourselves. Just to show you how ridiculous this is I will use my kids as an example. We live 1.6 miles from their school. The bus goes past our house all the way down to 122nd st to drop off kids before circling around to come all the way back to the school before dropping our kids off. Meanwhile two other empty buses go past our house before our kids get off. We don’t expect the ‘perfect solution’ but we certainly would expect a reasonable one.

As for the safety of the students nobody has suggested that the school district does not care about the safety. If anything the school board and school administration has gone out of their way this year to ensure the safety of the students. You can read the updated safety policies on their website for evidence of this fact. /www.deercreekschools.org/boe/faq.htm

Hopefully this clears up some of the confusion.

Parent Post

Can we say "one gets what one pays for"? YES we can in this case and others at DC! It's really a sad deal!! Many people have stated that a very nice lady was the "interim transportation coordinator" for about 4 weeks in September. During that time she had made some positive adjustments and had many others planned for the department. Also, I heard she choose not to take the position when offered it because of the pay being extremely lower than other school districts. "What is DC thinking?" Find a good employee and then let them go? Yes I do agree, Tony was VERY good as we loved him driving for our kids! And most importantly, let's all have our voices be heard! Maybe DC will "WAKE UP\"!!!! A bargain may not always be a bargain!!!

DCSpost.com Clarification

Yesterday in one of our responses we made it appear that Tony had left Deer Creek. Due to the growth of the school district it was decided to make the transportation separate from grounds and maintenance. Tony continues in the same position just minus the transportation duties. We should also recognize Tony as another of the unsung heroes of the school district for his commitment and dedication. Sorry for any misunderstandings this may have caused.

I also want to go on record and apologize for using the term ‘morons’. I know better and I should never let my emotions get the best of me. For that I apologize.

November 8, 2006

Parent Post

I also believe that she can't even drive a bus. In transportation it is important for the boss to have a CDL to be able to cover routes if needed. Especially, since there is not much organization in transportation as of right now. I also heard there were several other applicants that were more qualified than she was for the position. I also heard that it was offered to several other people but the pay was not enough for the position. I have heard that there are a lot of bus drivers very upset about the whole issue also. I do not believe that she has been approved for the position through the board yet either. If not, Let your voices be heard! Is it me or is this district starting to be ran like a family business?

Our Reply

And it is a very poorly run family business at that. It is a shame that Tony left. He did a wonderful job, driving when needed, running bus routes that worked and were not under/over crowded.

We agree that everyone should let the board know how they feel. Silence is perceived as acceptance. Come to the next board meeting, Monday, November 13 2006 - Deer Creek Prairie Vale Elementary Library or go to the Deer Creek Schools Q&A form to send them your comments.

And yes their site is back up.

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November 7, 2006

Parent Post

The administration just hired a 21 year old with no experience to take this position.(Transportation Coordinator) Or maybe a few years of driving experience qualifies someone to manage your child's transportation and safety. I'm sure since the new Transportation Coordinator is the new Technology Director's wife, the transportation software problems will be taken care of like the e-mail system.

Our Reply

Superintendent’s Daughter, Principal’s Daughter-in-Law, Technology Director’s Wife. Can you say Nepotism? Though we've said it before, it is worth saying it again. It is going to get sticky when it comes time to discipline or fire someone. One has to wonder how much effort was put into looking for candidates. Surely there are more applicants out there with more qualifications and years of experience. Has anyone heard of a headhunter?

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