With the district still without its suspended transportation director Charles Bolden, a Chartiers Valley school board member said it might be wise to hire a reliable fill-in.
School Director Jeff Choura last week suggested that Joe Fortunato, a retired transportation supervisor familiar with the workings of the bus garage, could temporarily help out.
Choura was especially concerned about having someone on-site during the winter months, when weather can wreak havoc on bus schedules and service. Personnel Director Don Kaminski and Art Turner of the facilities department have agreed to share supervisory garage duties, but both have their own jobs to worry about.
Handling the computer-based transportation routes is a job in itself, said Choura, who was the board's transportation committee representative for many years.
"I know how complicated that [software] system is," he said.
Bolden, who returns from a forced leave in February, got in trouble after he brought a gun onto school property this summer. An employee found a .357-caliber Magnum in a side bag on Bolden's motorcycle. No students were involved and no one was injured in the incident.
Bolden has a permit to carry a concealed weapon, but the district has a no-tolerance policy against guns. Bolden was suspended for four months without pay.
The board did not decide whether to act on Choura's request, and Superintendent Bernard Sulkowski felt the temporary help wasn't needed.
He pointed out that Turner routinely is in the district as early as 5 a.m. and that some of the outstanding issues in the bus garage involve personnel, which would affect Kaminski anyway.
Board President Tom Helbig asked Sulkowski to keep an eye on the situation during the upcoming months.
First Published: November 26, 2003, 5:00 a.m.