Trustees Critical of Supt. Peterson Over Bus Shortage for Handicapped

In an unusual show of friction, Orange County Board of Education trustees on Thursday criticized Supt. Robert Peterson and the county Department of Education which he heads for failing to resolve a 3-week-old bus shortage for handicapped students.

“We’re not only required morally to get these kids to school, but we’re also required by law to do that,” said Sheila Meyers, one of the five elected trustees.

Criticism by trustees came during the Board of Education’s first meeting since the bus shortage began Sept. 12. The county Department of Education, which gets its $50-million annual budget from the elected board, is supposed to provide schools and transportation for about 800 handicapped students in the county.

During the debate, county officials acknowledged that there is no immediate solution to the shortage.

The bus contractor, Durham Transportation Inc. of Rosemead, has said that lack of adequate pay in the five-year county contract made it impossible to hire enough bus drivers. The county Department of Education said last week that it had reached agreement with Durham to resolve the problem.

At the Thursday board meeting, however, county education officials acknowledged that seven of 81 bus routes still remained unserviced. The buses take handicapped children to 21 special schools around the county.

Last week, a state watchdog agency charged with monitoring federal programs for the handicapped--Developmental Disabilities, Area Board XI--filed a civil rights complaint in the matter.

In response to criticism aimed at him at the board meeting, Peterson blamed the continuing shortage on Durham Transportation. Peterson said he believes that the problem might be resolved if concerned parents put pressure on the contractor.

But trustee Meyers said she thinks Peterson, who is elected and has authority independent of the board, must act.

“It’s going to cost us (county Department of Education) a lot of money no matter what happens at this point,” Meyers said. “The question is, how can we spend the money and get these kids to school?”

Meyers put her hands to her head when Education Department officials said that as of Tuesday, 18 handicapped children had been unable to get to school for more than two weeks. The number of handicapped children still unable to get to school was down to 15 on Thursday, they said. But the officials said that many children are getting to school only because of a temporary arrangement involving taxicabs and specially hired buses.

In an angry voice, Meyers said: “These children have to be taken to school, even if we have to drive cars to get them there.”

Trustee Elizabeth Parker told Peterson that trustees have a “responsibility to the taxpayers” to see that the bus shortage is ended. “I am concerned . . . that there is still not an agreement,” she added.

Board President Dean McCormick said: “At this point, there are still things to be worked out, obviously,” adding that a special meeting of the Board of Education may be called to resume discussion of the bus-shortage problem.

Peterson charged that Durham Transportation had violated its contract by not providing the drivers as agreed. “The (Durham) drivers who should have been handling our routes were directed to Santa Ana,” Peterson said. Durham Transportation also drives buses for Santa Ana Unified, and Peterson has charged that the company deliberately channeled drivers to that contract, thus worsening the county bus shortage.

Larry Durham, who could not be reached for comment Thursday, denied last week that his employees were ordered to take Santa Ana Unified routes instead of the county routes. Durham said his drivers chose to drive the Santa Ana routes because the pay under that contract is better.

During the board meeting, Meyers criticized Peterson and his department for not informing her “until 9 p.m. on Sept. 12” that a bus shortage existed. She charged that evidence of a contract problem emerged nine months ago, but trustees were not informed by Peterson or his assistants until the crisis struck.

Peterson did not directly respond to that criticism. But later, when Meyers reiterated her request to be told promptly of any new developments, Peterson said: “We’ll try to keep you informed to the best of our ability, and that’s what we’ve done all along.”