Parents, nurses and community members press Binghamton board for overhaul of bus safety after alleged injuries

Multiple parents and community members urged the Binghamton City School District board on Nov. 19 to take immediate action after what speakers described as repeated student injuries and inadequate responses by the district's contracted bus company.

Tamisha, introduced herself as a parent, said two separate incidents involving her children left her 5-year-old with "two staples in top of his head" and now under concussion evaluation. "Something has to be implemented when it comes to these buses," she said, adding that she had begun homeschooling because she no longer trusted the district-contracted transportation.

Several other speakers described similar or related problems. A family member representing Lorenzo, a nonverbal student, said Lorenzo was once dropped off at the wrong school, later returned with unexplained bruises and that calls and messages to the district and contractor went unanswered. "We suspect that this is happening on the bus," the speaker said, and asked the board for an urgent solution so Lorenzo can "attend school and feel safe."

Jess, a self-identified community nurse and parent, criticized what she described as a lack of first-aid response on buses: "As a nurse, that's just terrifying," she said, recounting a child who needed staples and a concussion clinic and urging the district to treat the issue as a shared responsibility with the contractor rather than shifting blame.

Chanel (community member, parent and therapist) cited a parent survey she said showed "over 75% of parents said they do not feel confident that their kids are safe on the school bus," called the district's $4,000,000 contract with the bus company unacceptable in light of repeated incidents, and urged specific reforms: creation of a safety committee including district staff, board members, parents and bus-company representatives; a single complaint line or online form routed to one district contact; same-day incident reports from the contractor to parents and district staff; and monthly incident tracking and review.

Other speakers described instances when children were missing, left on buses, or returned with visible injuries; one daycare representative said a 3-year-old was missing for two hours and returned to the daycare with a bloody nose. Multiple speakers said they were frustrated by what they described as a repeated pattern of the district and the contractor pointing fingers at one another when incidents occur.

In response, a board representative said the district has a safety committee and proposed forming a subcommittee with parent input to investigate the complaints and seek real solutions outside open session. The representative asked families to provide contact information for follow-up.

What happens next: The board recorded the public comments and indicated it will follow up, offering to convene a subcommittee with parent participation. Speakers at the meeting requested concrete deliverables: a complaint intake mechanism, incident-reporting timeline from the contractor, monthly incident counts and a safety-oversight team that includes parents and contractor representatives.

The meeting transcript shows board business continued after public comment; the district subsequently approved routine resolutions and moved on to scheduled presentations and policy first reads.

Ending: The board signaled follow-up outside of the meeting and asked parents to provide contact information so the proposed subcommittee could reach out; speakers said they would expect a plan before the end of the calendar year.