ROANOKE, Va. – As patience continues to dwindle and pressure proceeds to mount, the transportation provider for Roanoke City Schools has hired a new general manager to run the company’s Roanoke operations.
Durham School Services announced on Thursday that Ron Young, an Army veteran and longtime Roanoke Valley resident, would be taking the helm in the Star City.
This comes after as the embattled company has experienced problems with staffing and bus routes, leaving some students waiting out in the cold and late for class.
Last week, the school board received an update from Durham which it viewed as unsatisfactory and demanded an action plan by the following day. Durham met its deadline, but the school division chose to wait five days before giving 10 News its requested copy.
The meeting last week was the first time we saw a school board that was no longer willing to be lenient, even bringing up what the contract said about terminating the company.
But, while board Chairman Mark Cathey was pleased with the plan, the real test will be if Durham can deliver. Wednesday marks three months since the first day of school in Roanoke and while many of the bus issues have been resolved, there are still some that need fixing.
To see the full action plan and read more about the meeting, click here.
According to Durham, Young graduated from William Fleming High School and has over 40 years of professional experience in the automotive and logistics field, including Sears Automotive, Young’s Keep on Trucking and most recently, UPS. He has also been the senior pastor at the Plantation Road Baptist Church in Roanoke since 2000.