Mat-Ab troubled by bus aide's arrest
Man accused of giving Middletown teen drug also served district
BY KAREN E. BOWES
Staff Writer
The school bus aide who allegedly supplied a vial of methadone to a 15-year-old Middletown student last month also rode the bus with special needs students from the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District.
The incident, which took place on the morning of Oct. 30, resulted in the teen overdosing at the Middletown High School North. Parrish Jones, 35, of Keansburg, an employee of Milu Bus Service, was arrested that same day on charges of endangering the welfare of a child and distribution of a controlled dangerous substance.
On Nov. 20, parents of special needs children expressed their frustration to the Matawan-Aberdeen Board of Education, saying Jones never should have been allowed on the bus with children, especially special needs children.
Albert Brisebois, Aberdeen, is the father of a 10-year-old special needs child who attends the Harbor School, Eatontown. According to Brisebois, Jones last rode the bus with his son on Oct. 17.
"We are letting criminals take our children to school," Brisebois told the board.
The father said his child's bus has broken down at least six times in the last six months, leading him to believe Milu does not take very good care of their vehicles. Also, the bus driver for the route has used foul language and threatened bodily harm to his child, said Brisebois.
"Shut the hell up or I'll have the aide squish you," Brisebois said after the meeting, quoting the bus driver to his child.
The father said he now believes that the driver in question has been fired because different drivers arrive each day at his house. However, he added, he has no way of knowing this for certain since Milu will not release this information.
Milu has been mum on the subject of Jones, too.
Back on Nov. 6, Milu spokeswoman Connie O'Connor said the bus service would release a statement on the issue soon. But as of Monday, no statement had been released.
"There's no comment," a Milu spokeswoman said on Monday. "No comment as of yet."
Though Milu requires background checks for all of its employees, results of those checks often take up to six months to complete, according to the board. In the meantime, pending employees are allowed to work. According to school board attorney Michael Gross, Milu refuses to say if Jones ever underwent a background check or if he is still employed by the company.
Adding fuel to the fire, the board is unable to outright fire Milu due to the state's open public bidding system. Milu, based in Aberdeen, is one of several contract-based bus services employed by the school district.
"The fact that you have no recourse is just appalling," said parent Anissa Esposito, of Matawan.
Although sympathetic, board members could offer little encouragement to the outraged parents. Superintendent Bruce Quinn said he, too, was frustrated.
"Part of the problem in New Jersey is there are a lack of [competitive bidders] on school bus routes," Quinn said. He added that in some cases, only one vendor will respond to the district's bid.
"This is a matter that should be investigated and should be addressed by our Legislature," Quinn said.
The superintendent said he will work to alter the appropriate laws and already plans to meet with legislators after the holidays. In the meantime, Quinn said, the district has forwarded all of the pertinent information to the Monmouth/Ocean County Education Association in charge of reviewing such matters.
"They've begun an investigation into the allegations made by the parents," Quinn said, adding the group is "examining to see whether any of our contracts have been violated so we can terminate. It's not a simple matter, however."
In particular, Quinn said he wants the background check process sped up and a copy of those results sent directly to the school district, not the county, where they are currently sent.
"The board could look into explaining our bus fleet, but I'm not sure if that would be the best use of taxpayers' dollars," Quinn said. "I think there is a legislative answer to this."
Parents of the special needs children are not holding their breath. A letter-writing campaign to the governor is already in full swing, thanks to Parents of Special People (POSP), a local parents group.
"I have Jon Corzine's fax number and I intend to use it," said Laura Porter, parent and organizer of the effort.
"The more people who write in and complain about it, it may be changed faster," said Esposito, also an POSP organizer.
The e-mail address for more information regarding the letter-writing campaign is pospmatab@aol.com. The Matawan-Aberdeen Board of Education will meet again on Dec. 18.
