FortBendNow.com

Even as it continues to deal with allegations of maintenance work being done on privately-owned vehicles, the beleaguered Fort Bend ISD Transportation Department has now been hit with accusations it is protecting the job of a supervisor with a hot temper that has employees living in fear of their personal safety

Several sources have come forward to tell FortBendNow that Operations Supervisor Dann Long routinely berates bus drivers and other employees, screaming at them with profanity-laced comments.

The drivers and other employees have given Long the nickname “the bus barn bully.” They also point out that Long has already physically assaulted one bus driver.

In an incident last August, witnesses said, Long assaulted bus driver Jack Richardson after dressing Richardson down for talking to another employee who was on traffic duty.

That incident was reported to police and ended up in court before Missouri City Justice of the Peace Joel C Clouser.

Witnesses said the incident occurred around 9 a.m. last Aug. 25 at the Lake Olympia Transportation Terminal as Long and another district employee were coordinating traffic. When the traffic slowed, bus driver Richardson walked up to the second employee to ask a question.

At that point, according to witnesses, Long approached Richardson and began physically shoving Richardson backward and poking him in the chest. Long reportedly screamed at Richardson to leave the other employee alone while he was directing traffic.

“Richardson just teed-off on poor old Jack; it was completely uncalled-for,” one witness said. “There was no traffic and it wasn’t like Jack was interfering with anything, and Long just tore into him.”

The witness went on to say that if Long felt Richardson was interfering, he should have just said so in a professional manner.

“All he needed to do was say, ‘Jack, your conversation needs to wait until later.’ There was no need to come charging over shoving and screaming,” the witness said. “(Long) was just out of control.”

Lake Olympia Terminal personnel say that was not the first time Long had shown a hair-trigger temper.

“It happens on a pretty regular basis. We all do our best to steer clear of him,” an employee said. “He yells; he uses profanity; he just acts like he’s ready to tee-off on you at any time.”

The incident between Long and Richardson landed Long in Fort Bend County Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Court. According to case record 08-CR21-07084, Long was charged with Assault by Contact.

On Dec. 3, Long appeared before Judge Clouser and agreed to a plea deal that placed him on a deferred adjudication program, a type of probation. The probation ends later this month, on Feb. 25. Long was also ordered to pay a fine.

With the probationary being about to end, a number of FIBSD transportation employees are concerned about what will happen once Long no long has the court monitoring his behavior, as well as why the school district has ignored their own policy about workplace violence.

A review of the FBISD Transportation Handbook contains a series of conduct issues categorized as “failure to observe the following rules will result in immediate termination.”  The eighth item listed as conduct that will result in immediate termination is “Any attempt to injure another person.”

Despite the incident and deferred judication action by the JP court, no disciplinary action has been taken against Long, and he remains in his same supervisory position, employees report.

When asked why no disciplinary action had been taken by the district against Long, Fort Bend ISD Chief Communications Officer seemed unaware the case had already gone to court.

“What I have been advised of regarding this case is that the account of this incident as told by Mr. Richardson is very different from the account provided by Mr. Long, and that Mr. Long has pleaded not guilty to the charges,” Simpson said in an e-mail.  My understanding is that it has not gone to trial, but should in the near future.”

In fact, Long’s agreement to the Dec. 3 plea deal in JP court does constitute adjudication of the complaint against Richardson, unless Long does something to violate the terms of the probation, court personnel said. Violating the terms of the probation would basically involve being arrested again for a similar offense.

“This is an issue that’s pretty straightforward,” one bus driver told FortBendNow. “This guy Long is (Transportation Director) Richard Torres’ fair-haired boy. Torres has even publicly said Long has nothing to worry about. This department is just about as corrupt as it gets and nobody at the main office does a damn thing. Based on Ms. Simpson’s comment, the main office seems pretty clueless about what’s even going on out here.”

Another driver said she has little confidence district administrators or the school board will do anything to clean up what she called “widespread corruption” in the district’s transportation operations.

“The only reason this one got as far as it did is because he lost it in front of a witness. If that witness hadn’t been there, this whole thing would have been swept under the carpet like so many other things out here,” the driver said. “Unless the public demands this mess be cleaned up, it’ll never happen. We’ve already seen that in other things.”

The driver cited recent allegations about the school district police chief using district resources to run political campaigns for Galveston County Sheriff and revelations about district mechanics doing work on FBISD administrators’ private vehicles as examples. Calls for investigations into both situations were ignored by the district.

“(Superintendent Dr. Timothy) Jenney looks the other way; he’s not interested in (transportation) because it doesn’t get him a bonus in his contract. And the school board, the only time we hear from them is when they’re running for election and want our support,” the veteran driver said. “Now, they’re all hiding like a bunch of cowards behind the superintendent’s spokesperson. Where’s all that leadership they said they would bring to the school board when the want our votes?”

The driver compared it to a well-known crime television show.

“I can’t speak for the whole district, but the transportation department is run more like something out of ‘The Sopranos’ than a professional organization,” she said. “You toe the mark, do what ever dirty work you’re assigned, and if you step out of line bad things happen to you.”

For his part, Richardson said he has done his best to stay out of Long’s way.

“I’ve just ignored his insults and kept away from him as best I can,” Richardson said.

Still, Richardson admitted he has started to feel the pressure. He said he is now being “singled out” for allegations of minor infractions and he believes Long and Torres are trying to build a case to have him fired.

“My record has been unblemished in six years with the district. Since (the assault) They’ve been constantly evaluating me, finding little discrepancies and writing me up,” Richardson said. “I’ve been targeted and regardless of how good my performance is, they’ll probably find some way to write me up. Then it’s (Long’s) word against mine – who do you think Torres is going to believe?”

Richardson also said Long’s behavior has not changed.

“He still acts like a playground bully,” he said. “I just wish the judge would have at least ordered him to undergo some kind of anger management.”

Yet another driver said the message to drivers is clear. They can either take the abuse or find another job.

“What if the roles were reversed? What if (Richardson) had taken a poke at Long? Do you think Jack would still have a job?” the driver asked.

One employee said he hoped the situation never again escalates into physical violence, but that might be what it takes to wake up the school board.

“It’s already on record this guy Long is a hothead. The next time he punches an employee, maybe that employee will just sue the district for keeping a jerk that like on the payroll and in a supervisory position,” the transportation employee said. “Maybe if the taxpayers have to pay off a big-ticket settlement, then the trustees will pull their heads out of the sand and see what a corrupt system they’ve got out here.”

FortBendNow agreed to protect the identities of certain Fort Bend ISD employees interviewed for this story because they felt if they were known to district administrators, their jobs would be jeopardized.

Attempts to speak with Long and Torres were unsuccessful.