Transportation Issues and the DESE

We wrote the following email to Jay Sullivan at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s business services division. As an employee of the DESE responsible for the oversight and accountability of our schools, we were quite surprised to receive an email from him (to which he cc’d the majority of individuals and departments we had in our original) refusing to address any more of our questions until we revealed our identity. As it should not matter to the DESE who they are releasing public knowledge to, it appears as though Mr. Sullivan has taken on the agenda (and ultimately approving) of the school. We find this not only disturbing but incredibly upsetting as we had believed that the DESE existed to set policies and procedures, ensure compliance, and as a resource for parents with concerns. Apparently this is not the case and the DESE is working for the schools, NOT the taxpayers and citizens of our state.

The following email has now been sent to the following individuals a second time:

Jay Sullivan
School Business Office
Charter School Office
DESE Board of Education
Mitchell D. Chester
Business Office
Media Department
Legal Department
General Mailbox of the DESE

 Mr. Sullivan:

We find your insistence on our identity disturbing as we have obviously chosen to remain anonymous for a reason. As a government agency responsible for the oversight of our schools and education system, it is a disappointment that you are demanded this from us and, as a result, put the education of our children at risk. None of the information requested is privileged and should be easily accessible to anyone without the need to confirm ones identity. It appears as though you are attempting to assist MVRCS in obtaining our identity rather than take issue with the many clear violations of the law that we believe they are guilty of. If they are guilty of wrongdoing and DESE is not proactive nor willing to address issues brought to their attention, it is no wonder why this school feels it is ok to do as they have been doing to the parents.  Please address the issues and questions presented in our original email. Thank you,

Mr. Sullivan:
Could you clarify another issue regarding transportation at Mystic Valley Regional Charter School. It appears that even though students are in the High School, the school has determined eligibility for
transportation based on their distance from 770 Lebanon Street as they have made that their 'hub'. If I understand the situation correctly, if parents live within 1.75 linear miles/2.00 driven miles from the
lower campus, they are not eligible for transportation to that campus but their parents may then pay 100.00 to provide transportation to the High School. Is this how you understand it to be and/or is this
permissible? It doesn't seem as though considering 770 Lebanon as the schools hub adequately serves the needs of those within the high school. 

Also, as for the distance issue, could the school simply have a bus stop that is 2.00 miles from the school and then allow parents who are literally on the line (for instance, one family is 1.99 miles from the
school) to take advantage of that bus stop? This would be beneficial for a number of families who may not qualify although the students 4 houses down are (and the students had been on the same bus/bus stop in
prior years). It seems as though there should be a much simpler way of handling this than the manner in which it is currently being handled. Do you know if they are currently grappling with the number of buses
versus the number of students (i.e. are the buses they currently have reaching maximum capacity and if they approve too many additional students, they risk having to add another bus)?

One final question, when the school submits their expense for transportation, are they only providing the expense of transporting students to and from school or do they also include athletic transportation? When looking over the financial records at the DESE and the Annual Report (no easy task to compare or ensure that the numbers are identical) it appeared as though one year the school spent less on transportation (per the reports) than they listed for expenses. I can't imagine that the DESE would allow schools to make
money on transportation (besides being able to charge parents for transportation and accept transportation reimbursement funds). Thank you for all of your help in these matters.