Howard County school leaders say some school bus drivers are using students and their families to influence negotiations with one of the system’s contractors and the drivers’ employer.
The drivers in question are employed by Zum Services, one of the contractors that provide student transportation for the Howard County Public Schools System.
According to the school system, these drivers handed out flyers to students on Friday, encouraging families to call the school system’s student transporation director and advocate on their behalf in contract negotiations.
In an email to families on Monday, HCPSS Superintendent Bill Barnes and school board chair Jolene Mosley expressed support for the drivers’ right to negotiate their contract, but said it was inappropriate to use students and families as “messengers for influence” in their negotiations.
“To be clear, we support nearly everything included in the flyers,” Barnes and Mosley wrote in their joint email. “Bus drivers are essential and crucial to the operations of the school system. However, students are not an appropriate means for disseminating this information, and no other entity would be permitted to conduct such a campaign as it is in violation of HCPSS policy.”
The school leaders added that they “do not wish to engage in public negotiations and influence campaigns” between the drivers’ union and Zum.
The drivers employed by Zum are being represented by Teamsters Local Union #570. They have been negotiating with their employer for better pay and benefits.
Earlier this month, the drivers voted to authorize a strike as part of negotiations with Zum, though they have not yet initiated that strike.
In their email message Monday, the school leaders said Zum receives the highest average rate per route of all the student transportation providers that HCPSS contracts.
They added that per their contract with Zum, rate adjustment requests can only occur at the time of the contract renewal, which will next happen this winter and spring for the 2026-2027 school year.
“The amount currently being paid to Zum Services this school year is the amount agreed upon by Zum,” Barnes and Mosley wrote. “With the current school year budget already established, any increase provided to Zum Services would require the reallocation of funding away from student instruction and schools.”
They closed their message with praise for the drivers who transport students to and from school every day.
“We encourage students, staff, and parents to continue expressing support for all our drivers,” they wrote. “They are wonderful people who do exceptional work. They are often the first person to greet students in the morning and the last to say goodbye in the afternoon, and their efforts are essential to the entire student experience. We value all our drivers and the contractors who employ them.”
Teamsters Local Union #570 and Zum Services did not respond to Baltimore Fishbowl’s request for comment.
