BUS DRIVERS

Five Lancaster School District contracted school bus drivers should not have been hired at all due to criminal convictions.

Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale vented his frustration at finding problems over the last five years with bus drivers who work for contractors retained by school districts.

Other districts found to have ineligible drivers include Penn Hills (two in a 2016 audit), Philadelphia (two in a 2016 audit) and Chester Upland (one in a 2017 audit).

DePasquale said ineligible drivers have only been found in districts that contract for bus services and not in those that have their own transportation. It is the district’s responsibility to check backgrounds, not the contractor’s. All PA school district’s have been put on notice.