AUBURN — Superintendent Cornelia Brown said Wednesday she wants more information on why bus drivers have been leaving their jobs with the Auburn schools.
In response to recent comments by former bus drivers about the district’s shortage and work environment, School Department employees will call former drivers for more information about their departures. They will also be speaking with current employees to hear their perspective.
Two former drivers and one resident spoke at the meeting in support of former employees who have criticized the work environment, while two people spoke positively about their employment experiences with the Auburn school district.
“You hear people saying they drive out of town to not work for Auburn,” Chuck Bowie, a driver and mechanic for the district since 2017, said. “I actually drive from Augusta, 45 minutes to an hour, every day to come down here and work. I like it. I like working for Billy, Shelia, Janet.”
Director of Student Support Services William “Billy” Hunter was criticized for his conduct by former employees who spoke to the Sun Journal. In the Wednesday article, six former Auburn drivers said management and a poor work environment were significant to their reasons for leaving the district for other jobs in 2021.
A seventh driver called the Sun Journal on Wednesday citing similar reasons for having quit three years ago.
Bowie questioned why the article did not include comments from employees who work in the district, adding he did not agree with the complaints.
“I’m not the only one,” he said in an interview following the meeting. “There’s people at the garage who were genuinely hurt by what was said (in the article). Because we know what happened, but we can’t say what happened. And that will come out when we have meetings with the (superintendent).”
A second driver, Donna Desjardins, told the School Committee she retired from the district in June.
“The only reason I left was because I was retiring,” Desjardins said. “No other reason. I enjoyed working with the people I was working with, extremely, a lot. I liked working for the people I had to work for.”
“Reading that article this morning that I read, you would think we were working in a hellhole. I was not working in a hellhole,” she continued.
She, too, praised Auburn’s transportation management staff.
“Two and a half years ago, Billy went to bat for us and got us some holiday time, sick time, vacation time” and health benefits, she said.
Two former Auburn employees, who drive for the Falmouth school district, told the School Committee their work environment is better than the one they left in Auburn years ago.
Mark Tassinari pushed back against school officials’ assertions that driver shortages are everywhere; the Falmouth district employs 21 drivers for 19 bus runs, he said. In the six years he has worked for Falmouth, just two people have left, one of whom ultimately returned, he added.
“Part of it’s because of the benefits we get, but the most part of it is because we enjoy working there,” he said. “They don’t have someone looking over their shoulder all the time, they just like you to go do your work.”
Louise Labrie said she left the Auburn school district five years ago following 12 years of employment for “a lot of reasons,” adding that Falmouth has a “totally different atmosphere” than Auburn.
“Fifteen years ago, working in Auburn you had a good job, we had an excellent job, everybody wanted to work in Auburn,” she said. “(And now) nobody wants to work in Auburn.”
The Auburn school district has canceled bus runs multiple times over the past month due to a lack of drivers, leaving parents to coordinate their own transportation to and from school, sometimes with little notice. Since the start of the school year, eight drivers have left the district.
“I believe the plan is not a short-term issue and it needs to be one where we have a longer look on the challenges facing the School Department,” Brown told the School Committee. “I believe we need to give you some options you may like to consider.”
She said she envisions creating focus groups to allow employees to share their thoughts and distributing a confidential survey for those who do not feel comfortable speaking in person.
Still, the district’s busing situation may get worse before it gets better. Following the meeting, two drivers shared that they were on the fence about whether to stay with the district.
OTHER MATTERS
Brown shared a proposal to offer premium pay and referral bonuses to district employees.
If approved by the School Committee, all permanent employees across the district — from crossing guards, to teachers, custodians and food service workers — will receive $1,000 in recognition of their work during this school year. Employees who successfully recruit new employees a will get a $1,500 referral bonus.
The premium pay, which Brown previously estimated would total $720,000, would be taken from federal relief funds, while referral bonuses would be paid for using district funds.
Assistant Superintendent Sue Dorris reported that findings to date of a districtwide math curriculum review show that Auburn students are not meeting standards in math and some of the current teaching materials are unsatisfactory.
The curriculum subcommittee also found a need for stronger intervention system for students struggling with math and more professional development opportunities for math teachers. The committee plans to review a new potential curriculum next.
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