MSAD 72 to hire attorney for transportation probe

FRYEBURG, Maine — The MSAD 72 school board will bring in outside legal counsel to examine its transportation-related processes following an incident in which a disabled student was temporarily missing while being driven to her special-education school.

During the Dec. 8 meeting’s public comment period, the child’s foster mother, Kate Joy, delivered an emotional, detailed account of the Dec. 3 incident. The van company First Student was supposed to bring the girl to a special-needs school in Monmouth, Maine, which is west of Augusta, but instead of arriving at 9:10 a.m., the girl arrived at 12:40 p.m. The driver apparently drove to Lewiston. Joy said the driver spoke no English.

Since the incident, First Student’s contract with the district has been terminated. MSAD 72 employees are now providing students' transportation to out-of-district schools.

On Wednesday, the school board unanimously voted to authorize up to $20,000 for an attorney to review internal transportation procedures and processes. 

The attorney whom the school board discussed hiring is David Joyce of Brann & Isaacson, with offices in Lewiston and Portland, Maine. A formal decision to hire Joyce was not made at the meeting since Joyce charges about $285 per hour and it was unclear how much time the review would require.

Superintendent Jay Robinson said 40 hours would equate to about $12,000.

"He has quite a CV (curriculum vitae), and I like the fact that he is really familiar specifically with school law and transportation issues," said school board chair Beth Bosworth.

Consulting with outside counsel would not take the place of a police investigation, Bosworth said.

"It's strictly for our improvement," she said.

Joyce, a former assistant U.S. attorney, prosecuted a day-care employee charged with exploiting children, among other high-profile cases.

Robinson said: "I would welcome whatever feedback we get," said Robinson.

The school board had discussed using its regular counsel at Drummond and Woodsum with locations in Portland and Concord, but decided to bring in an attorney who is independent.

Several school board members said it is important for the investigation to begin soon while the incident is still fresh in people’s minds.

Bosworth then read a list of preventative measures already in place:

• MSAD 72 is being sent devices that will enable GPS in out-of-district vans for real-time monitoring of vehicle locations.

• The district has implemented a new procedure to track daily attendance of out-of-district placements. The administrative assistant for special education calls each placement each morning to confirm attendance.

• The school board is working to establish an internal procedure for subcontracting transportation. The policy subcommittee may discuss creating a related policy and procedure.

Bosworth said an external investigation will be conducted to create an action plan. The plan will provide “a robust accountability and attendance plan for students who are placed out of district, and assess the use and feasibility of independent/district owned GPS on all vehicles carrying district students.”

In response, Joy told the Sun, “This is the first time I've seen real leadership.”

She told the board her daughter was picked up by a substitute driver after the regular driver canceled because of weather conditions. The substitute arrived late, spoke no English and struggled with his phone and GPS to locate the school. Nearly five hours later, neither the district nor the company could account for the girl's whereabouts, she said.

Around 11 a.m. police began a missing-child search. Joy said another First Student driver located the van and her daughter in Lewiston, off the intended route, at around noon.

The girl arrived at school at 12:40 p.m., Joy said, and was “distressed, hungry … and nonverbal,” though she is not typically nonverbal.

Joy called for “publicly released findings and corrective action to rebuild the community trust around this event.”

First Student told the Sun the vehicle was stuck in heavy traffic on the highway for several hours and was unable to place a call to dispatch.