By Patrick Adrian
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
CLAREMONT — Bus driver shortages are forcing district administrators to be more prudent in their allowance of school busses for some field trips and extracurricular activities, according to Superintendent Michael Tempesta.
The Claremont School Board inquired on Wednesday into the district’s denial of school busses to transport students to Boston to see a New England Revolution soccer game.
Claremont Middle School Athletics Director Shaun LaPlante, who organized the trip, said that school administrators approved the trip, though administrators said the trip would not be “school sanctioned” and that LaPlante would need to arrange outside transportation to and from the game.
“I was originally told that I could not use the busses from the school but I could raise money to get a [private charter bus],” LaPlante explained.
LaPlante said he received a quote of $950 from a private charter company for a bus with a capacity of approximately 55 passengers. The game tickets will cost $35 per seat.
LaPlante said he initially planned to purchase the bus and tickets with his own money and collect the money from the students and families for the tickets and bus seats later.
But then LaPlante said he learned from Claremont Middle School principal Frank Romeo that he could not make the transactions himself for the charter and tickets because he was a school employee, which would suggest the trip “was school sanctioned.”
“I was told that a parent had to organize and pay for the trip,” LaPlante told the school board. “So I still couldn’t use the school’s busses. But I couldn’t pay for the trip myself, which I was willing to do.”
LaPlante said that 60 students initially signed up for the trip and an additional 20 students have expressed interest more recently.
In regard to the use of school busses, Tempesta explained that the district is worried about risking overuse of its bus drivers, as the current staff is “bare-bones.”
“We don’t have any backup drivers,” Tempesta said. “It was totally a conscious decision to limit field trips over the weekend and other types of trips using our drivers and risking them. We collectively went around to all our school principals and spoke about it.”
Tempesta said these concerns about driver shortages also impact decisions regarding field trips and off-campus programs during school hours, including the winter recreation programs, which may need to center activities on or close to school grounds should drivers be unavailable.
While the district ideally wants to shift back to the pre-pandemic familiarity of field trips and off-campus trips, the district’s top priority for transportation has to be getting students to and from school, Tempesta said.
The district does approve school busses to take teams to sporting events, though Tempesta noted those trips are more local than a trip to Boston.
School Board Vice-chair Heather Whitney volunteered to make the purchase on LaPlante’s behalf to circumvent the school district’s concern about the event appearing “school-sanctioned.”
LaPlante said he attempted to ask parents to volunteer as the acting trip organizer to make the purchases, but contacted parents expressed reluctance to undertake that responsibility.
LaPlante estimated the total purchase, including the charter and 80 tickets, to cost around $3,600.
LaPlante said he was not worried about the possibility of some students changing their mind about attending.
“I know some people will dip out, but other people will take those spots,” LaPlante said. “If I buy 80 tickets, I will find 80 people who will want to go.”
reporter @eagletimes.com
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