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Hillsborough School Bus Administrator Retiring

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By MARILYN BROWN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 28, 2008

Updated: 08/28/2008 12:22 am

TAMPA - Jack Davis, the 57-year-old administrator in charge of Hillsborough County schools' embattled transportation department, is retiring Sept. 5.

Davis signed his retirement papers Tuesday, a little more than a week since the start of school brought scores of problems, from inability of parents to reach the transportation department's hot line to complaints about bus routes and rules.

School board members said Wednesday that Davis' resignation is because of his health and not the result of a transportation department expansion that school board members are calling a "fiasco" and "crisis."

"He chose to retire because he wasn't up to his full capacity," said board Vice Chairwoman Carol Kurdell. "Physically he just couldn't keep going."

Kurdell said schools Superintendent MaryEllen Elia called her Monday to tell her of Davis' retirement.

As chief information and technology officer, Davis also supervises the district's communications, assessment and accountability, information services, staff development, supplier diversity, and customer service and support.

Davis signed papers Tuesday indicating his last day will be Sept. 5, according to Steve Hegarty, who heads the communications department under Davis. Davis enrolled in the state's Deferred Retirement Option Program in January, according to Hegarty.

That program allows employees to work for up to five more years while also earning retirement pay that draws interest.

School board member April Griffin said Elia called her Tuesday afternoon to tell her about Davis. "I was told it was because of his back and his health problems," Griffin said. "I think that's their story and they're sticking to it."

Although the school district is making progress in handling the transportation issues, Griffin said that because Davis was also dealing with health issues, he "hasn't been paying as much attention as he could have been" to transportation.

Board member Susan Valdes said she was called by Elia on Tuesday about Davis' retirement. "I was shocked," Valdes said. "I've noticed a trend when they retire all of a sudden."

Valdes called the transportation problems "a fiasco" and blamed lack of planning.

"In my opinion, it's MaryEllen and her staff and with Jack," Valdes said. "Blaming it on transportation department head John Franklin would be so unfair. He was given the tools he was given and the staff he had."

Davis has worked for the district for 34 years as a teacher, principal and administrator, but was given supervision of transportation by Elia about two years ago when the district started overhauling the ailing system fraught with late buses and unruly students.

Neither Davis nor Elia could be reached for comment Wednesday.

Hegarty said that as of Wednesday, parents were getting through to the transportation call center, where 19 lines were open and 1,663 calls answered. Retired Freedom High Principal Richard Bartels was sent to the call center this week as principal liaison to schools, Hegarty said.

"They seem to have a handle on it, and people are getting through - I heard that today for the first time," Kurdell said. "There has to be accountability for what happened. We just can't have this. It's just been nightmarish for everybody concerned."

Some parents who were frustrated last week said they received return calls over the weekend or this week. For some, bus stops were changed.

The new plan that totally revamped the system - requiring many students to walk farther to stops, and cuts to after-school buses to for-profit programs and some nonprofit programs - has a long way to go, say many parents and bus drivers.

"It's a mess," said Luis Perez, president of the Hillsborough School Employees Federation. "Has it gotten any better? No, no, not yet."

The district has finally given bus driver supervisors authority to change routes that have led to crowded buses, Perez said. Field supervisors who assist on routing issues are getting district cell phones, he said.

Some parents, however, were taking drastic measures to get answers:

•A south Hillsborough mother hired an attorney this week to help get her 10-year-old son with autism picked up an hour later so he doesn't have to spend nearly two hours on a school bus each morning. "All I'm asking for is someone to respond and call me back," Laurie Eckley said. "He has a hard enough time with school without being on the bus for two hours."

•Sherri Southwell of Carrollwood sent Elia an invoice Tuesday for $105.99 for driving 36 miles and spending 41/2 hours of vacation pay to get information on her 16-year-old daughter's bus stop.

Although Southwell had a bus stop by the second day of school, she said she sent the invoice to make a point with Elia. "She needs to know how much parents have had to spend," Southwell said. "It's the frustration of it all. You can't really put a price on frustration. It's put a hardship on a lot of people."

Some parents were still waiting for responses Wednesday and taking care of transportation themselves.

Shana Rivera said her 5-year-old son, Lazaro Marin, walked home alone the first day from busy West Waters Avenue in front of her apartment complex instead of from inside her complex. Kindergarten students are not supposed to be dropped off without an adult to meet them

Rivera said she eventually got a call back from Davis saying someone would call her, but no one ever did.

In the morning the bus is supposed to arrive before 7:30, but Tuesday it came at 8:30, half an hour after school starts. Rivera took her son to school Wednesday and says, "I don't have a choice unless it's fixed."

Reporter Marilyn Brown can be reached at (813) 259-8069 or mbrown@tampatrib.com.

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