Newhall Schools Hire New Bus Firm

Trustees of the Newhall School District voted unanimously Monday night to hire a new school bus company to replace troubled and much-criticized Laidlaw Transit Inc.

Parents, children and district administrators have complained since October that Laidlaw drivers were poorly trained, unfamiliar with their routes and rarely completed their rounds on time.

The complaints dogged Laidlaw for months, and school administrators have been threatening since November to sever the company’s contract unless service improved.

Laidlaw is the nation’s largest school bus company, with about 180 contracts in California alone.

In its place, the trustees awarded a $396,000 annual contract to Santa Barbara Transportation, a much different firm. Santa Barbara is a small family-run company that has only 10 contracts with school districts in Santa Barbara County, said Ken Stokes, company president.

Supt. J. Michael McGrath said he was impressed by Santa Barbara’s management practices. A consultant hired to review Laidlaw cited poor management as a major cause of the company’s problems.

The trustees of the William S. Hart Union High School District are expected to approve a $1.5-million contract with Santa Barbara tonight.

Four bus companies, including Laidlaw, bid on the contracts. Santa Barbara was the lowest bidder on the Hart contract.

Laidlaw, however, was the lowest bidder on the Newhall contract, submitting a bid $63,000 under Santa Barbara’s proposal.

But McGrath said the trustees were not obligated to renew Laidlaw’s contract, despite the low bid.

Laidlaw officials also had to fend off allegations by former employees at a state Senate hearing last year that supervisors doctored training records to make rookie drivers appear more experienced.

The California Highway Patrol investigated but found no proof that records had been altered.