School Bus (File Photo/ Bill McChesney/Flickr)
After months of debate over the inner workings of the Brick school district’s transportation department and a layoff that could have left 24 school bus drivers without jobs, the district has ultimately laid off two drivers.
The Board of Education on Thursday night ratified employment for 104 bus drivers. Some reductions in the department were made by way of attrition, though many were not needed since numerous bus routes to private schools were maintained by the district, including a bus route to Christian Brothers Academy and Red Bank Catholic high schools in Monmouth County. The board approved the routes to those schools Thursday as well, in which parents will pay $517 each to fund the bus. The private school parents can apply a monetary allotment they receive toward the route fee.
Though only two layoffs resulted from the shakeup in the transportation department, several drivers had their hours reduced from full time to part time status, said Interim Superintendent Richard Caldes.
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The management of the transportation department will also change for the 2015-16 school year. Last month, the district hired Donald Wilson to serve as the departmental supervisor at a salary of $85,000 per year. Wilson replaces Joseph Sangiovanni, who was not offered a contract to return for the new school year.
