Warren Hills reinstates five fired school bus drivers Thursday, August 31, 2006 • By SARA K. SATULLO • The Express-Times WARREN HILLS | The Warren Hills Regional School District has reinstated five of the 14 bus drivers who were fired in 2002 after joining a teachers union. The five drivers are assigned to special education routes. Each bus driver will cost the district roughly $10,000, although costs will vary by route, Business Administrator Maureen Joyce said. The rest of the district's routes are contracted to a company. "Those were the five who wanted their jobs back," Superintendent Peter Merluzzi said. In May 2002, 14 bus drivers and a mechanic voted to join the Warren Hills Education Association. The next month, the school board voted to fire the employees and hire Snyder Bus Service, calling it a cost-cutting move. The district said privatizing the bus operations saved about $239,000 a year. While the board maintained the move was in the public's best interest, the Public Employment Relations Commission decided the move was vindictive. An appellate court agreed with the commission, and the school district appealed to the state Supreme Court, which refused to hear the case. "The court spoke; this is what we had to do," Merluzzi said. In an earlier interview, Pam Niles, a field representative for the Warren Hills Education Association, said the fired employees should qualify for back pay, medical insurance costs and four years of pension contributions to the state retirement system. The district does not know how much it owes the five workers in back pay. "We haven't even started the work yet," Merluzzi said. "We haven't even gotten the paperwork back from them yet." Reporter Sara K. Satullo can be reached at 908-475-8044 or by e-mail at ssatullo@express-times.com. © 2006 The Express-Times. Used with permission.