Gadfly Bites 10/2/26—Two weird tricks

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1. On Wednesday, we mentioned with some incredulity that Princeton City Schools was likely to lose student transportation service on October 1 due to an impending bus driver strike. So far so normal. But then we learned that these drivers were striking not against the school district but against First Student, the private company that contracts with the district. Weird, right? Not only that, but despite the company having contracts with a half-dozen or more districts in the area, this strike is specific to Princeton and the walkout would only affect that district. How in the fluke is this possible? Fortunately, the Enquirer’s Grace Tucker got the answer for us: When Princeton outsourced its transportation back in 2014, First Student was required to take on as many of the district’s existing drivers that wanted to stay. And while some contract bennies were “trimmed” at the time, the contract itself has lived on and is now in dispute, just as if First Student were a school district. The strike started yesterday and continues today. School’s still open in Princeton, but absences “won’t count” and “virtual options” are available for students who can’t/don’t show up for the duration of the disruption. Cuckoo bananas. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 10/1/26)
   
   

2. Also really weird: The Toledo Blade editorial board’s opinion piece about charter school report card data. At least, I think that’s what it’s about. They mention the handful of charters who did well, as cited in a news piece we discussed on Monday, and also note that almost all charter schools in Frogtown performed better than almost all Toledo City Schools elementary buildings. But then they conclude, nonsensically, that “the legislature and the governor” haven’t improved education enough in Toledo or Ohio via their charter school experiment. What the flunk, guys? How about we stop pointing fingers and call for cleaning up our own house instead? (Toledo Blade, 9/30/26)

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