NEW YORK—A forum where parents, city councilmembers, and other can ask the city’s Department of Education about the bus strike—which will officially end Wednesday—and any potential loose ends will take place on Thursday evening.
“It’s like the hurricane—just because the strike is over doesn’t mean things go back to normal,” said John Englert, co-chair of the Citywide Council on Special Education.
Representatives from the city’s Department of Education and its Office of Pupil Transportation—responsible for ferrying around 600,000 students in the five boroughs and surrounding areas—will be on hand to answer questions.
Englert said he wants to hear from parents, about their experience during the bus strike and whether their problems have been resolved by the end of the strike; whether parents have received full reimbursement for alternative transportation, such as taxi rides; and details about the set of bids for new contracts from the city.
The new set of bids caused the strike in the first place. Englert said he wants to know who will approve the final bids. A Department of Education spokesperson said on Monday the Panel for Education Policy, which is known for never blocking a department proposal, will vote on the contracts in May. The new bus routes start in the fall.
The forum is on Feb. 21 at 6 p.m., at the Brooklyn Borough Hall. More information here.
