Dear PulseLine, I just finished reading the PulseLine that was dated November 12th about the school bus drivers in Westfield who are transporting our children on a daily basis. I am quite concerned and troubled about these drivers enduring these harsh and rigid rules. I also am a parent in the City of Westfield whose children ride on these school buses and I must say that I am extremely concerned about their safety and well being transported to their schools and back home. Who is responsible for creating such chaotic and unreasonable expectations upon these school bus drivers whom we have entrusted our children with? I have spoken with my children’s school bus driver and have asked them if these accusations are valid and the driver acknowledged they are true. The bus driver informed me that they were not at liberty to discuss this but did shake their head yes. I also am a tax payer in this city and I have to question the abilities and the authority of the people that are in charge such as the Transportation Director and the Superintendent of Schools and School Committee Members. If there is a contract that the School Bus Contractor must agree to in regarding these conditions then shame on the City of Westfield for conducting such atrocious, inflexible and very unreasonable working conditions upon the school bus drivers. I feel any driver who has been suspended or terminated from our city without due process should immediately be brought back for a review. I work in the corporate sector where we have policies in place for disciplinary actions that give the employee their due process. They are never just dismissed and shown the door. I cannot believe in the year 2012 this kind of rude injustice even exists for anyone especially for what should be a respected and responsible position as a school bus driver. City officials need to stop over reacting and take into consideration any drivers past history and look at all the facts of a driver before you deem them unfit and remove them from driving in the City of Westfield. I have also saw the ad looking for professional school bus drivers which apparently is telling me the City of Westfield is Terminating to many drivers without due process. WHAT IS GOING ON? Superintendent Scallion responds: Bus drivers are employees of Lecrenski Brothers Incorporated who hold a contract with Westfield Public Schools. Any decisions made by the school department regarding transportation are based on such contract with our highest priority being the safety of our students. Individuals with questions or concerns are encouraged to contact the School Department directly. Thank You.
Mr. Humason, I read your column about the election outcomes. You said that “all my sources and analysis led me to make the predictions I did” which were that Mitt Romney and Scott Brown would win their respective elections. I would say that those predictions were based on what Fox news and other right leaning pollster/pundits (Rasmussen, Karl Rove, Dick Morris) were reporting even though the mainstream media were predicting wins for President Obama and Elizabeth Warren. I believe that this just shows what a lot of people have been saying all along that Fox News is biased towards the right and that they perpetrate the myth that the mainstream media is biased against conservatives so people will watch their channel and listen to their pundits on the radio.
