After months, Akron Public Schools is still trying to decide how it will transport its most vulnerable students.
A decision on the latest administration proposal to contract with Templeton Transportation LLC to transport developmentally disabled students and pupils experiencing homelessness to and from schools was postponed Monday night by the Akron Board of Education, the climax of another lengthy and emotional board meeting.
Though the second attempt in as many board meetings by the administration to work exclusively with Templeton Transportation hit a roadblock, the board did pass two agenda items that ensure the district will be able to transport these students using independent contractors when school starts in the coming weeks.
The continued debate follows months of back-and-forth conversations between the school board, the administration and 143 independently contracted operators, many of whom have driven students for decades. No date was set for the board to reconsider the Templeton contract.
“I’m glad the board decided to question the practices and statements made by the administration, and I’m still hoping that they see the best option financially for APS would be to contract with more ICOs and not outsourcing these jobs to an outside company,” said Brandy Vickers, a van driver who also is a spokesperson for the group.
Board member on Monday night warns vote could lead to lawsuits that she would join
Previously, Signal Akron reported that Superintendent Michael Robinson met last week with the independent van drivers and alluded to a plan that would present the board with several options. That was indeed the case Monday evening, with the administration presenting an option to use the ICOs alongside Templeton or contract exclusively with the company.
The attempt to reintroduce a vote on the contract was met with concern by the board, with rhetoric intensifying as the discussion evolved.
Several members questioned the administration’s second push to approve an already rejected contract, expressing frustration at a lack of information and clarity from the administration before the board meeting.
“It is my request that if this goes through as being tabled then we receive clarity before the next meeting, not at the next meeting,” board member Rene Molenaur said during the meeting.
At one point, board member Barbara Sykes questioned if the administration’s attempt was legal.
“My advice would be that if we proceed with this, then these other vendors have every right to sue this school board, and I will join them,” Sykes, wearing sunglasses because of a recent medical procedure, said to applause from many of the van drivers in attendance.
The sticking point for Sykes is that the administration is attempting to push forward a contract the board already rejected. In doing so, she explained, it is circumventing the request for proposals (RFP) process.
There was no attorney present in the meeting to clarify the legality of the issue.
“Because of the issues they’ve brought forth and been allowed to express to us here at the board, [they’ve given] us pause several times now to go back and reconsider how we’re doing things,” said Diana Autry, president of the Akron Board of Education.
Van drivers continue to attend APS board meetings: ‘Fight for our jobs and do our jobs’
Of the roughly 1,200 students regularly transported by van, the vast majority are handled by independent drivers, with transportation vendors filling in the gaps. These van drivers have shown up in droves to several board meetings to voice concerns for their jobs and the students they transport.
“I was glad that the board stood up to the administration, but I don’t completely understand what they’re trying to do,” said van driver Robert Lyons, who spoke at Monday’s board meeting.
“If school was to start tomorrow, we would be there and we would be ready to transport kids.”
For now, the issue of the Templeton contract is tabled and the van drivers are ready to pick their routes and get back to work. The issue isn’t going away, though, and neither is the advocacy by the van drivers.
“We’ve had to educate them,” Lyons said, “and watch our backs, and be scared for our jobs, and fight for our jobs and do our jobs.”
