DOE Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza last month (via Twitter)
Oct. 3, 2018 By Nathaly Pesantez
Richard Carranza, the new chancellor for the city’s Department of Education, will be in Woodside later this month for a town hall.
The event will take place at P.S. 11 on Oct. 17, and is organized by the Community Education Council for District 30.
The town hall comes as District 30, which encompasses Long Island City, Astoria, Sunnyside, Woodside, and parts of Jackson Heights, experienced a slew of issues with yellow school buses at the start of the school year.
Parents around the district shared their nightmarish experiences with getting their children to and from school, with some waiting for school buses that never came or being dragged along trips that lasted several hours.
Most of the problems came from one bus company, Grandpa’s Bus, which has since had four of its routes given to other bus companies to take over.
Carranza apologized to families and students, and said the situation was unacceptable.
The school bus fiasco led to more reports from the Daily News of other problems plaguing the city’s yellow bus system, like drivers with criminal records being hired after faulty background checks and a forged signature system that allowed for some drivers to be approved.
Carranza, as a result, fired Eric Goldstein, a transportation chief who oversees the yellow bus system, and reassigned Elizabeth Rose, who had been CEO of school operations, to a role focusing on transportation contracts.
The town hall also comes as Skillman Avenue, where P.S. 11 is located, underwent a recent roadway redesign, which some parents claim will lead to safety issues.
The town hall, however, will not focus on one issue, but rather all concerns and questions regarding District 30.
The town hall will take place at P.S. 11, located at 54-25 Skillman Ave., from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 17. On site interpretation services will be available.
