School Board Hears From All-Star Representatives

By Eliza Hallabeck

Board of Education members heard a preliminary report from representatives of All-Star Transportation, Inc, of Torrington during its Tuesday, April 10, meeting.

“We are your new transportation contractors effective July 1,” said John Dufour, president of All-Star Transportation and owner with his sister Leslie Dufour-Sheldon and brother Richard Dufour.

The three company owners gave an update for the school board on how All-Star is working toward the summer start of its contract with the school district.

All-Star tendered the lowest qualified bid for the school district’s 2012-17 transportation contract for regular education routes in town at $10.2 million, and the contract was awarded to the company in early September. The Board of Education finalized the contract between the district and All-Star on October 4.

Newtown’s owner-operators offered the fourth lowest bid on the contract at $11.7 million. All but a handful of the owner-operators contracts are set to expire in June, before the routes are given to All-Star under the new contract. The collective owner-operators have a complaint currently before the Connecticut Board of Labor Relations alleging the Board of Education failed to bargain with the owner-operators prior to deciding whether to open the 2012-17 transportation contract for bids. The next hearing session for the complaint is set for May 9.

After being awarded the contract, John Dufour said on Tuesday, his company ordered 115 new buses that will be ready for inspection in time for the start of the contract. All-Star, he continued, has also leased space at 31 Peck’s Lane to store the buses when not in use and to house the company’s offices.

 John Dufour said the company has been advertising for drivers locally, which includes attending a March job fair in Danbury.

“We are reaching out now to all current owner-operators and spares with a letter offering employment,” said John Dufour. “We are also offering to help sell buses.”

Richard Dufour said he is overseeing the inspection of bus routes and the district’s three-tiered system. The company is aiming to have the routes available for the district by July 15 to be made public.

For the fourth year in a row, Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson said the school district will add five minutes to the instructional day, making a school day 20 minutes longer for the 2012-13 school year than a day was in the 2007-2008 school year.

Even with the added time in the school day, Richard Dufour said pickup times for students may be similar, due to his examination of routes and loading procedures.

One of the changes in the tiered system of bus routes, Richard Dufour said he is looking into would combine the routes for St Rose of Lima School with the routes for Reed Intermediate School.

Both John Dufour and Richard Dufour said the additional tier scenarios should be ready to be presented to the school district by May 1.

When Board of Education Vice Chair Laura Roche said there has been concern voiced about who the bus drivers will be, John Dufour replied his hope is most of the All-Star drivers will be Newtown residents.

Also during the school board’s meeting, residents shared concerns about bullying in Newtown High School sports, the board approved its policy for major object code budget transfers, and discussed having a consultant assist with the superintendent’s evaluation process. For more information on the school board’s meeting, see the related story in this week’s edition of The Bee.