I will be out of the office starting 03/06/2008 and will not return until
03/10/2008.

please contact Karen Stanow through email or phone to receive
transportation assistance.

————————————————————————————————

NOTE: Email is provided to employees for the instructional and
administrative needs of the district. E-mail correspondence to/from
a district e-mail account may be considered public information and
subject to release under Georgia laws or pursuant to subpoena.

————————————————————————————————

Click here to download the PDF file of the February 14, 2008 GCPS BOE meeting minutes.

The current handbook has two pages dedicated to county expectations of students as it applies to transportation. The county makes it clear as to what it expects from students and parents with respects to our obligations to transportation, but no mention of its obligation to ensure that all children be picked up from their respective stops.

Unforeseen circumstances might cause a delayed arrival, but to allow for an extended delay or to completely abandon its obligation to pick up children, for any conceivable reason, without policy, reference material and a published contingency plan is unacceptable.

Specific language and policy regarding transportation anomalies is needed in all subsequent handbooks in the same explicit detail that is currently used to describe other transportation policies. If it is physically possible to get a bus onsite, to an assigned stop, there is no excuse not to, or at least have corrective measures in place in the event of a transportation problem. This language then needs to be married to a realistic, published contingency plan that can be easily and quickly implemented in the event of a problem. The alternative to this is to believe that the county requires children and their parents to be responsible for getting those missed children to school, on time, by any means necessary should the county fail to meet its obligation. If this is the county’s position it should be published in all future handbooks so that unsuspecting children and parents will know what’s expected of them.

To illustrate, I’ll cite one specific example that has happened to our neighborhood and from what I gather is not an unusual occurrence,… a missed pick up by a substitute bus driver. Should a driver miss a stop, but deliver the rest of the students on time, to the designated school and without incident, no one is aware of a problem. The driver doesn’t realize their error and since there is no attendance taken a bus, the school and the county are completely unaware of the error. This leaves however many children of whatever age left stranded at a bus stop, waiting for a bus that will never arrive and forced to make uninformed decisions beyond their means.

The school system, at its highest levels of administration, is aware that extended delays and missed pickups occur on a regular basis, is aware that children are left abandoned on the curbside and realizes that there is no policy to reference in its handbook nor county sanctioned corrective measures available to parents to reconcile the situation.

Over the past 16 months I have worked the appropriate GCPS chain of command in an attempt to correct these issues. I have been repeatedly told that my position has merit and that a change in policy is warranted but by virtue of the fact that no change was made to this year’s handbook, I can only conclude that I have been unsuccessful with my attempts to affect positive, tangible change.

I ask that the school board address these oversights and trust it to take corrective action to ensure the future safety and well-being of the county’s school bus riders.

Mr. Weingarten:

In response to your questions for me in your e-mail of 2/1/08, my closing statement was merely observing that, based on my investigations since I became aware of your concerns, there is simply not a history of chronic failure on our part to safely deliver children to school.    We strive for perfection as our 1700+ buses make over 80,000 bus stops each day and believe we accomplish that task safely and well.  Our backup processes work, despite, regrettably, your experiences to the contrary.

As I have communicated to you previously,  I agree with you that we have failed to adequately document our process for parent/student reaction to real time pickup/delivery issues and that we will address that oversight in the next edition of the Student/Parent Handbook.  Progress continues on assuring school phones will be answered consistent with that process and your specific Parkview HS situation has been addressed.

You commented in your e-mail that a missed pickup “…leaves however many children of whatever age left unattended…”.   Children’s safety at a bus stop when no bus is present has always been, and clearly must remain, a parental responsibility no matter when the bus arrives.

Based on your input & help, we are making an improvement in our transportation processes for the benefit of our children.

Regards,
Phil Duffy

Thank you for your e-mail. I would like to ask you for clarification of your closing statement and then I would like to share with you, and those GCPS officials you chose to copy, a few items that I find interesting.

First, your statement, “It is interesting to us that we cannot remember having this problem before.” Please clarify, are you all referring to parents/students not being able to make contact with their school, having children stranded at a bus stop, that I’m the only parent in the entire county that has experienced and expressed this particular concern, or exactly what were you inferring? I sincerely don’t understand because it has happened to our neighborhood three times recently and I have been very vocal about it all levels. Additionally, I have a quote from Mr. Reppert on 04/26/07 stating, “The event you describe in your email occurs monthly somewhere within the county.” I can only take your statement to suggest that in your estimation, I’m the lone pain-in-the-*$$ who has pursued the issue.

Now, here are a few items that I find interesting:
1. You and I have had numerous correspondence via e-mail and not once have you copied anyone else.
2. I contacted you, per your invitation, on 01/17/08 to follow-up and ask for clarification of a previous correspondence and it took you a week to reply to me and that was only after I contacted you a second time asking for a response.
3. You’ve never sent me a proactive message like this before.
All of this occurs two days after successfully petitioning the school board for an opportunity to speak before it and express my concerns. I mentioned to most of you that this was my very intent and course of action in the event I could not resolve the concerns otherwise. I take this message of yours that I’m responding to be very disingenuous, condescending and typical of the correspondence I’ve experienced with GCPS – that is when the GCPS officials I’ve contacted have bothered to get back with me as I have been ignored on many occasions.

I would like to ask you to directly answer a very specific question: Do you believe that the concerns that I’ve been addressing with you and other GCPS officials over the past year and a half or so to be legitimate ones? I would ask that you please elaborate in detail and explain your position as you believe it should be.

In its 2007-2008 Student/Parent Handbook (Stock# 90816), GCPS has two pages dedicated to county expectations of student behavior as it applies to county transportation. Page 39 is dedicated to intervention and consequences of behavioral issues. It’s these very same children who are left to their own devices when abandoned by a missed county school bus pick up. Do you not see the potential problem? What happens when one of these behavioral problems is left unattended, for an extended period of time, by a missed pick up and causes harm to another or has harm caused upon them. It won’t be pretty from a liability standpoint. As I have previously stated, if it hasn’t happened before, consider yourselves incredibly fortunate and if it’s not addressed it will only be a matter of time before it does occur. GCPS makes it abundantly clear as to what it expects from students and parents with respects to transportation, but not a single word about its obligation to ensure that all children be picked up from their respective stops.

I don’t know what you good folks think of my crusade, but I can assure you that it is a case of genuine concern for the safety and well-being of our kids. I would much rather spend my Valentine’s Day having dinner with my family than driving clear across the county to speak for three minutes before the school board. Ask your transportation staff, I have never once made a single complaint about a late pickup and there have been many. I understand that unforeseen circumstances might cause a delayed arrival, but to completely abandon your obligation to pick up children, for ANY reason, with no policy or plan in place to address it is unacceptable. I would suggest to you all that this issue should have been handled long ago, at a much lower level and without me having to suffer the grief and indignation that I’ve had to endure from GCPS officials.

Let me cite one specific example that has happened to us and from what I understand happens on a relatively frequent basis,… a missed pick up by a substitute bus driver. Human error. Understandable, but correctable and in my humble opinion preventable to a degree. Let’s say a substitute bus driver has ten stops and misses one. As long as that driver delivers the rest of the students on time, at the designated school and without incident, no one is the wiser. The substitute bus driver obviously doesn’t realize it and since there is no attendance taken of the children as they disembark, the school and the county are completely unaware of the error. This leaves however many children of whatever age left unattended and forced to make decisions beyond their means.

In my communications with GCPS officials it has been stated that technology needs to be thrown at the issue. I suggest to you that a ten dollar case of pencils will go a long way in correcting the issue. Have the substitute driver check off each stop of the route sheet as they pick up those kids. If performed as instructed, any error should quickly become evident. You could even go a step further and require that these route sheets be signed and turned in by the substitute driver for review.

In conclusion, let me again attempt to be clear about my desires – There needs to be specific language, policy, guidelines, etc. spelled out in all subsequent GCPS student/parent handbooks in the same sort of explicit detail that has be used to describe other transportation policies. This language needs to specifically address any sort of missed pick up, for ANY reason. If it is physically possible to get a bus onsite, to an assigned stop, there is absolutely no excuse not to, or at least have corrective measures in place in the event of a problem. This language then needs to be married to a realistic contingency plan that can be easily and quickly implemented in the event of a problem. The alternative to this is to believe that the county expects children and their parents to be responsible for getting those missed children to school, on time, by any means necessary. If this is indeed your position at least have the courage to spell it out in the next GCPS student/parent handbook so that unsuspecting children and parents will know what is expected of them.

Thank you, I look forward to your reply.

Martin Weingarten
mweingarten@earthlink.net

—– Original Message —–
From: Phil_Duffy@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us
To: mweingarten@earthlink.net
Cc: Charles_Buchanan@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Cindy_Loe@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Linda_Anderson@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Grant_Reppert@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; jim_steele@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2008 3:58 PM
Subject: Transportation Concerns

Just wanted you to know that we are continuing to work on your concerns about early morning communications to your school.  Here is a number you can use to get into Parkview HS in the early morning from about 5:30 a.m. on:  770-931-5696.  You should expect to talk to either Sabrina, Dave or whoever answers.  Additionally, we wanted to make sure you knew the number we gave you before, 770-513-6686 is our main transportation dispatch number.  If you need central services, they should be able to get to the right people and get you help as well.

Again let me thank you for working with us.  It is interesting to us that we cannot remember having this problem before.  Thank you for bringing it to our attention.

Thanks.

“M. Weingarten”
<mweingarten@eart
hlink.net>                                                 To
<Lydia_Girolami@gwinnett.k12.ga.us>
01/31/2008 02:54                                           cc
PM
Subject
Re: Request to address Board on
Please respond to         February 14
“M. Weingarten”
<mweingarten@eart
hlink.net>

Thank you very much for your reply and assistance. Are there time
limitations imposed for speakers making their presentation before the
board?
Does the board accept corroborative documentation from those speaking?

Thank you -

Martin Weingarten
mweingarten@earthlink.net

>
> This will confirm that your name has been added to the Monthly Business
> Meeting agenda for February 14, 2008.  The meeting will begin promptly at
> 7:00 p.m.  The Board chairman will proceed through the agenda.  The
> Citizens and Groups Addressing the Board section will be introduced
> following the call to order, invocation, pledge, approval of agenda,
> approval of minutes, and board recognitions, if any.  Please approach the
> podium when the chairman calls your name.
>
> Thank you.

>I have received your request and have forwarded it to the Board secretary.
> She will be in touch with you to verify your placement on the agenda for
> the February School Board meeting.
>
> Sloan Roach
> Executive Director of Communication and Media Relations
> Gwinnett County Public Schools
> 437 Old Peachtree Road  NW, Suwanee, GA 30024-2978
> Telephone: (678) 301-6021 Fax: (678) 301-6030
> sloan_roach@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
>
>
>
>
>             “M. Weingarten”
>             <mweingarten@eart
>             hlink.net>                                                 To
>                                       <Sloan_Roach@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us>
>             01/28/2008 11:50                                           cc
>             AM
>                                                                   Subject
>                                       Re: February School Board Meeting
>             Please respond to
>              “M. Weingarten”
>             <mweingarten@eart
>                hlink.net>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Thank you for your prompt reply. This response to you will act as my
> official request as per your information provided below.
>
> My specific concern, in brief:
> There is no language in any of the GCPS Student/Parent handbooks that we
> have, including the current one, as to what needs to be done in the event
> GCPS is unable, for any reason, to get a GCPS bus onsite at the appointed
> time. The handbooks go on in great detail as to what GCPS expects from
> students and parents as it applies to transportation, but not a word as to
> what should happen in the event GCPS cannot meet its obligation.
>
> My reasons for wanting to address the board:
> This particular scenario has played out three times to the families of our
> neighborhood,… all within twelve calendar months. I have had much
> correspondence with GCPS officials including transportation management, an
> area superintendent, an associate superintendent, an executive director of
> operations and even a member of the board of education. I have been told by
>
> all that I have a legitimate concern, one that needs to be addressed and
> have received assurances and promises from all that the issue would be
> addressed. Thus far it has not.
>
> There has been so much correspondence that after being asked repeatedly by
> GCPS officials to quote correspondence from other GCPS officials, I finally
>
> found it necessary to create a website containing all correspondence
> related
> to the issue for reference purposes. As of this morning, Monday, January
> 28,
> 2008, I believe that it is current and up to date. You may review this
> website at the following web address:
> http://gcps.wordpress.com/
> or
> http://gcps.tk
>
> If you will read through the correspondence I believe that my source of
> frustration will become clear.
>
> Please do me the courtesy of acknowledging receipt of this message and
> detail what you will do with it.
>
> Thank you very much once again -
>
> Martin Weingarten
> mweingarten@earthlink.net
>
>
>
> —– Original Message —–
> From: <Sloan_Roach@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us>
> To: “M. Weingarten” <mweingarten@earthlink.net>
> Sent: Monday, January 28, 2008 11:02 AM
> Subject: Re: February School Board Meeting
>
>
>> Thank you for your suggestions. The Board of Education’s main address and
>> phone number appear on every page in the left hand navigator; however,
> you
>> have raised a good point and we will look to clarify it further on this
>> specific page.
>>
>> As for your request…. Typically, we need a brief description of your
>> topic. If the topic is tied to an incident, additional information is
>> helpful, including the school or cluster involved. You can fax your
>> request
>> to 678-301-6030 or you can email it to me and I can send it to the
>> appropriate staff member. You also can put the letter in the mail to:
>> Superintendent’s Office
>> Gwinnett County Public Schools
>> 437 Old Peachtree Road, NW
>> Suwanee, GA  30024-2978
>>
>> Once the information is received, one of our staff members follows up
> with
>> the person to let them know their request has been received and to
> provide
>> any further direction.
>>
>> Sloan Roach
>> Executive Director of Communication and Media Relations
>> Gwinnett County Public Schools
>> 437 Old Peachtree Road  NW, Suwanee, GA 30024-2978
>> Telephone: (678) 301-6021 Fax: (678) 301-6030
>> sloan_roach@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>             “M. Weingarten”
>>             <mweingarten@eart
>>             hlink.net>                                                 To
>>                                       <sloan_roach@gwinnett.k12.ga.us>
>>             01/28/2008 10:04                                           cc
>>             AM
>>                                                                   Subject
>>                                       February School Board Meeting
>>             Please respond to
>>              “M. Weingarten”
>>             <mweingarten@eart
>>                hlink.net>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Good Morning -
>>
>> I am writing with regards to information found on the GCPS BOE website (
>>
> http://www.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/gcps-mainweb01.nsf/pages/BoardMeetings0~BoardofEducation
>
>> ). Specifically, I would like to address the board regarding ongoing
>> safety
>> concerns with respects to the GCPS transportation department.
>>
>> The following is copy from the website:
>>
>> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
>> Procedures for Addressing the Board
>> The agenda is prepared in advance of each meeting. Anyone wishing to
> speak
>> before the Board should inform the Superintendent’s office in writing by
>> noon on the Monday prior to the Board meeting. Items for the agenda may
> be
>> suggested by any Board member, staff member, or citizen.
>>
>> Before each regular meeting, a public forum is held at 6:30 p.m. to allow
>> persons not on the agenda an opportunity to address the Board. Citizens
>> may
>> sign up at the Board meeting to speak during the 30-minute public forum
>> period. Speakers are asked to keep their comments brief, and no Board
>> action is taken.
>> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
>>
>> …but it is not clear as to (1) how much detail is required, (2) to what
>> mailing address this request should go to, (3) to whose attention, (4)
>> whether an e-mail submission would be acceptable, (5) how I would be
>> notified that the request was received, (6) how I would be notified
>> whether
>> or not my request would be granted and finally (7) how I should proceed
>> should I be granted the opportunity to address the board.
>>
>> Please advise as to these questions and if I might, I would humble
>> recommend that the website be amended to address these items.
>>
>> Thank you very much in advance -
>>
>> Martin Weingarten
>> mweingarten@earthlink.net

Mr Weingarten:
As my group (Facilities & Operations) is not involved with individual school practices, I am working on getting you a response.
Regards,
Phil Duffy

“M. Weingarten” <mweingarten@earthlink.net>
01/24/2008 11:01 AM Please respond to
“M. Weingarten” <mweingarten@earthlink.net>

To <Phil_Duffy@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us>
cc
Subject Re: Telephone Call Of 11/13/07 (2) (2nd Attempt)

Mr. Duffy -

Will your office or anyone from GCPS be responding to my request for clarification of your response with respects to my ongoing transportation concerns first sent to you one week ago? Please advise.

Thank you -
Martin Weingarten
mweingarten@earthlink.net
—– Original Message —–
From: M. Weingarten
To: Phil_Duffy@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us
Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2008 11:28 AM
Subject: Re: Telephone Call Of 11/13/07 (2)

Mr. Duffy -

Thank you for your reply. If I am reading your response correctly, I have a question for you – It has been our personal experience, on more than one occasion, that when we have called the school – most recently Parkview High School – no one is there to answer the phone. At 6:30 AM all we receive is a voice mail stating that the phone won’t be answered until after 7:00 AM. How is this discrepancy to be addressed?

Thank you -

Martin Weingarten
mweingarten@earthlink.net

—– Original Message —–
From: Phil_Duffy@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us
To: M. Weingarten
Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2008 4:47 PM
Subject: Re: Telephone Call Of 11/13/07

Mr. Weingarten:
We will be adding language to our Student/Parent handbooks to advise parents what to do for immediate help in resolving current student pickup/delivery issues.  In those situations, the call needs to go to the student’s school and we did not have that documented in our handbooks.

Thank-you for bringing this oversight to our attention.   It will be addressed in the next handbook issue.

Regards,
Phil Duffy
Executive Director – Operations
Facilities & Operations
770-513-6674