North Allegheny Schools trying to resolve bus issues after contractor transporting private and parochial students ceases operations

Families living in the North Allegheny School District who have children attending private and parochial schools experienced abrupt cancellation of bus transportation last week.

Busing since has been provided to Holy Cross Academy in Ross Township, but not Aquinas Academy in Hampton as of Aug. 29.

NA officials said a third-party contractor who buses those students unexpectedly canceled its contract, leaving the school district scrambling to find a replacement just as school was about to start.

Leslie Mitros, head of school at Aquinas, said North Allegheny has an obligation to provide busing for all school-age residents of the school district who attend any school, public, parochial, or private, within 10 miles of the district border.

“It is incumbent upon North Allegheny school district to resolve this quickly and provide transportation. Not only is this creating a hardship for many of our families, it is discriminatory against those schools that they have decided not to transport,” Mitros said.

After the third-party contractor canceled its contract, the district reached out to 11 other contractors to find a replacement, said Mark Trichtinger, North Allegheny’s director of operations.

“Unfortunately, the ongoing shortage of bus drivers has proved to be a significant obstacle in securing a replacement,” he said. “We recognize this is unacceptable and are steadfastly working to resolve this matter. Additionally, we are reviewing all North Allegheny bus routes to explore ways our drivers can take on additional students and stops.”

Mandy Kulifay of McCandless, who has two children at Holy Cross Academy, said the family received an email on Aug. 23 — the day before school was to start — from the North Allegheny transportation office that busing would not be provided. NA offered reimbursement for Holy Cross parents affected, she said.

Mitros said the reimbursement at the IRS rate for transportation of 65.5 cents a mile is not a solution for working parents who can’t pick up their children at the end of the day. The busing problem affected parents of 70 students who reside in North Allegheny, and they had three days to come up with a solution or car pool among themselves.

“The Aquinas families who reside in North Allegheny pay the same school taxes as all residents, and thus, are entitled to busing. Busing issues are usually handled directly between parents and their school district. Aquinas Academy will advocate for our parents if there seems to be a disregard for equal treatment between students who attend private versus public school,” Mitros said.

Mary Katherine Fisher, of McCandless, has a daughter entering kindergarten this year at Aquinas Academy, “and this is causing extreme stress both (scheduling) and financial that shouldn’t be happening,” she said.

“They stated they apologize for the inconvenience and are only offering mileage to parents who will have to either pay for after-care, leave work to pick up the student, or find alternative arrangements that will cost far more than the measly $0.65 per mile,” she said.

Mitros recognized the shortage of bus drivers, but said busing is legislated to be provided to Aquinas students under Pennsylvania law.

North Allegheny provides bus transportation for its 8,550 students and also transports students to more than 30 public, private and parochial schools each day, Trichtinger said.

While NA did get busing for Holy Cross, a few stops were missed the first morning.

“Our team has worked to resolve the matter and is hopeful transportation will be back on track moving forward,” said Trichtinger.

“The District is actively working for a transportation solution for those that do not have transportation. Parents/guardians will be notified as soon as transportation is available,” he said.