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Assistant Superintendent Jose Canana: Newark Unified has new buses but lacks drivers
Summary
Assistant Superintendent Jose Canana told the Liaison Committee that Newark Unified has several new clean‑energy and electric buses and state reimbursement that covers about 60% of costs, but the district faces a shortage of licensed drivers and relies on contracted vendors for much transportation.
At a Newark Unified Liaison Committee meeting, Assistant Superintendent Jose Canana said the district participates in California’s home‑to‑school transportation program and has recently added clean‑energy and electric buses but is short on licensed district drivers.
"The unfortunate part about this is we don't have any transportation bus drivers; we finally just acquired one that is doing local transportations as needed," Canana said. He told the committee the state program reimburses about 60% of eligible transportation costs—including fuel, new buses and technology—while the district covers roughly the remaining 40% from its general fund.
Why it matters: the shortage means district buses are not always available for routine runs, special‑education transport or extracurricular trips. Canana said the district currently has two clean‑energy buses and two electric buses with a capacity of 64 students each (the presentation noted 256 students could be mobilized at one time), but most special‑education and charter transports are provided by contracted vendors.
Committee members asked whether vendor buses are used for athletic events and field trips; Canana confirmed that vendors typically supply charter buses for those activities, while district drivers are limited. One member offered to connect Newark Unified with contacts in Cupertino, where the city and district have an established transportation partnership; Canana welcomed potential benchmarking and partnerships with local transportation agencies.
The discussion also moved to walking and biking: staff and members said many elementary students are driven to school, some schools (including Kennedy) show substantial bike use, and the district does not yet have precise mode‑share percentages. Canana said the district will pursue conversations with county and city transportation authorities to map routes, identify pressure points at busy intersections and consider bus passes or routes that improve access for students.
Safety concerns about e‑bikes on routes used by junior‑high and high‑school students were raised, with members noting speeds of 20+ mph present different design and enforcement needs. Canana said active‑transportation planning will look at age‑appropriate route designs and recommended infrastructure changes.
Next steps: staff said they plan to follow up with local transportation authorities, produce mapping of high‑pressure routes and report back to the committee at a future meeting.
