Disabled bus bungle blamed on 'systemic breakdown'

By Kate McIlwain and Aap
Updated November 6 2012 - 3:16am, first published February 10 2012 - 10:37am
Toni Howard (right) with her daughter, Mecenzi, who was left stranded on her first day of school. Picture: ORLANDO CHIODO
Toni Howard (right) with her daughter, Mecenzi, who was left stranded on her first day of school. Picture: ORLANDO CHIODO

An investigation into the debacle that left hundreds of disabled students without school transport has blamed senior bureaucrats at the NSW Department of Education but cleared Education Minister Adrian Piccoli.Yesterday, former director-general of education Ken Boston handed his report into the bungle to Premier Barry O’Farrell, who said it demonstrated a ‘‘systemic breakdown’’ within the department.Horsley student Mecenzi Howard, 14, who has cerebral palsy, was one of the 740 students stranded on her first day of school after transport operators pulled out of some runs at the last minute because of complaints over a new payment system.While Mecenzi’s bus service was back up and running, her mother, Toni Howard, said it would take a long time to restore her trust in the Government.‘‘We were lucky it only impacted us on that one particular day and we’ve got our bus service up and running now, but they’ve got a lot of work to do to make this better and also get the trust back of the parents,’’ she said.‘‘I just wonder if it’s going to happen again at the beginning of next year. They’ve got a long way to go and any report can say what the problem was but they need to fix it, and they need to do it now.’’Mr Boston’s report was scathing of the department’s handling of the situation, saying the education department repeatedly failed to tell Mr Piccoli that some students could be left without transport, even though it had been known since October there was a risk that would happen.‘‘The prevailing culture seems to have been one of telling senior officers, and even the director-general and the minister, what it was thought they wanted to hear, not what they needed to know,’’ the report said.‘‘I criticise the Deputy Director-General, Finance and Infrastructure and the Director of Finance Shared Services for failing to deliver this $80million program of vital importance to the most vulnerable children in NSW and their parents.‘‘They have damaged the reputation of the Department of Education and Communities in the opinion of the transport operators, the community and the NSW government.’’Mr Boston recommended disciplinary action be taken against both senior education officials. Mr O’Farrell said he was angered by the report’s findings and has asked for the recommendations to be put into effect.

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