The English School District says it has made significant progress in the area of driver standards and training since the Auditor General’s report was done in 2016/2017.
AG Julia Mullaley found cracks in the system when it came to police checks and driver’s records. Some drivers did not meet training requirements.
She found 76 convictions on driver records or abstracts. However, district director Tony Stack says only four of those occurred within the last 20 years and none relate to impaired driving or refusal to provide a breath sample. Forty-four, or 60 per cent, of the convictions were related to two drivers.
There are two categories of drivers: those employed directly by the school district and those who work for companies contracted by the board.
They have developed formal driver standards for both district-operated and contracted service.
Stack says that the school busing system is safe.
He says nothing is more important than the safety of their 45,000 students. There are 1200 vehicles and 1100 routes every day.