A group of parents of Dutch Neck Elementary School students have asked WW-P transportation director Ed Treadaway to replace the driver of Dutch Neck Route No. 9 after four days on the job.
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According to Risa Engel, Princeton Ivy East resident and parent of a Dutch Neck No. 9 rider as well as a Village School student, said: “We have had numerous bus drivers this year. We have had our concerns about putting our children, grades K-3, on the bus. In one instance, the bus driver was yelling at the children, telling them to shut up.”
The latest driver, according to Engel, “got lost, including doing a U-turn at the Community Park and delivered the children home more than 25 minutes after the normal time.”
Engel said the driver has exhibited poor judgment, dropping some students off at stops other than their designated drop-off locations. The driver is employed by a contracted bus company, and not by the district directly.
Engel said the district has been responsive. Treadaway has been to Engel’s bus stop to check on the driver. Dutch Neck School vice principal Dan Umstead rode with the bus driver after parents notified him of the problem.
The school district has not yet commented on the problem or on whether the driver will be fired.
