PENDER COUNTY — Speakers lined up before the Pender County Board of Education Tuesday to express their outrage over the recent firing of Topsail High School’s basketball coach, also a bus driver.
READ MORE: Topsail High coach fired after refusing to drive certain bus, parents start petition to reinstate
Superintendent Brad Breedlove fired Melvin London on Aug. 28 after more than a decade of London’s employment as a bus driver. London, who many in the community refer to as Coach June, was also named head varsity basketball coach last year and has an unblemished record with the school district.
Tuesday night’s speakers disagreed with Breedlove’s decision to terminate London for refusing to drive bus 251, a bus London claims has a long list of maintenance issues. After an initial refusal, London told Port City Daily post-firing he would drive bus 251 for the first week of school if he could be transferred back to his regular vehicle, bus 286.
“We did that man wrong,” parent Bryan Croom told the board during public comment. “13 years that man has been doing his thing in this county, and because he stood up and said, ‘That isn’t right for our students,’ you’re going to fire him? You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”
Croom, with two kids who have attended Topsail High, said he was well aware of bus 251’s problems, having kept up with the district’s emails informing parents of transportation changes and delays. He added a bus as unreliable as 251 should not have been put on the district’s longest bus route to begin with.
“The board hired a person outside of the community who has no clue the years of dedication Coach June has put into the Hampstead area, with all his time, blood, sweat and tears he’s put into our children,” parent Kathy Burns said.
Eight people in total spoke against Breedlove’s action to terminate the coach, among them a former athlete of London’s and parents of his bus riders. A petition to reinstate London on Change.org has received 1,441 signatures; it was created Aug. 27.
“This community needs June,” former basketball player Ryan Morris said. “June London is one of the most stand-up people I have ever met in my life.”
Breedlove did not address London’s firing on Tuesday, nor did the school board. Port City Daily asked for their comments on the situation Wednesday, though no responses were received by press.
However, the superintendent released the dismissal letter last Friday, stating London breached policies 7440 Assignments/Reassignments/Transfers and 7300 Staff Responsibilities.
Tuesday, the board received an update from Director of Transportation Britton Overton. Like other districts in the state, PCS has struggled in recent years to hire and retain bus drivers, resulting in double and triple routes that delay student pick-up and drop-off.
Overton reported the district has 75 drivers out of 94 to cover its routes. It operates 19 double routes in the morning and afternoon, along with a variable two to five triple routes, depending on driver availability.
Some of the routes are close to the school and short and therefore not hindering on-time arrivals, Overton said, but there are some students getting to school between one and two hours late. After London’s firing, the kids of bus 251 were added to that list.
According to emails shared with PCD by parent Ashley Sitorius, whose daughter was assigned to London’s bus, buses 251 and 270 lacked drivers the first week of school. Because of this, student pick-ups and drop-offs were over an hour late all week due to the reliance on other buses to pick up the slack.
Breedlove did speak to late arrivals on Tuesday and said all students missing instruction time due to delayed buses were being offered after-hours tutoring. The driver shortage not only impacts students — educators often have to show earlier and stay later to oversee on-campus children.
The district has 12 people in training for the required commercial driver’s license, but noted this is often a five- or six-month-long process, while attracting and retaining drivers is hard. On Tuesday, transportation staff described PCS’ driver pay as middle-of-the-road; London’s personnel record indicates he was paid $17.78 an hour.
Overton also overviewed the maintenance process for new buses. Bus drivers are responsible for a pre-trip inspection before start-up and every bus is scrutinized by a mechanic every 30 days.
A couple speakers pointed to bus 251’s maintenance record as indicative of the bus’ problems and described the logs as untransparent. PCD obtained bus’ inspection and maintenance reports, the former of which is missing three entries for May 2020, July 2022 and December 2022. The log begins in 2015.
As far as maintenance, the log has 24 entries of repair or replacement since Aug. 1 2023 to Aug. 29, 2024. The entries include work on the bus’ rear air bags, blower motor, valves and door, among other items. The report does not state if the maintenance resulted in the bus’ removal from service.
In a statement following London’s dismissal, PCS defended the safety of its entire bus fleet:
“We want to assure our community that all school buses in our district meet the safety standards set by the state. The bus in question has passed all state-required inspections leading up to the 2024-25 school year and continues to undergo inspections every 30 days, as mandated by state regulations. It is currently in operation and safely transporting students.”
Despite any opinion on London’s claims, the majority sentiment Tuesday was perceived unfairness in London’s firing.
Croom said he thought the decision was “race-based” — London is a Black man — with the audience voicing support.
Speakers also noted the district has three “parked” buses — meaning vehicles to sub in — that could have been offered, while retaining a dedicated and beloved employee.
“There are so many other children that could be impacted positively by this man; I believe he deserves a second chance,” Morris said.
Reach journalist Brenna Flanagan at brenna@localdailymedia.com.
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