Sep 13, 2019 2 min read

Monessen City School District is trying to resolve some ongoing issues with its school bus provider.

During the monthly meeting of the Monessen School Board this week, Superintendent Leanne Spazak said the district is starting to lose patience with PA Coach Lines.

“We had a situation where they didn’t show up to transport kids to a soccer game,” she said. “When the bus didn’t arrive, we had to carpool the kids to their destination. And then today, a bus wasn’t here to finish up a run. So, we were short a bus and had to do another run. As a result, some of the students were late getting home.”

Spazak said some of these problems also occurred last year and typically are more pronounced at the beginning of the school year.

“I know there are a lot of changes going on, from new drivers to new bus times. Those problems usually sort themselves out. Still, it’s frustrating, and it makes our parents upset. Hopefully, we can work this out,” said Spazak.

Board President Roberta Bergstedt asked Solicitor John S. Toohey to review terms of the district’s contract with PA Coach Lines.

“If things don’t improve, we may have to look into advertising for another bus provider,” said Bergstedt.

Spazak said the district will continue to meet with PA Coach lines to discuss ways to resolve the problems.

In other business, the board:

• Ratified the hiring of Patience Stanicar as a high school/middle school science teacher.
• Accepted the resignation of Jocelyn Secan as a middle school guidance counselor with an end date to be determined and approved the hiring of Lauren Dillon as a middle school guidance counselor with a start date to be determined.