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Wheelchair-bound students left stranded for THREE HOURS as $400k-a-year Boston schools boss faces scrutiny over failing transportation

Thursday, February 19, 2026•
3 min read
MDN Staff
•
Wheelchair-bound students left stranded for THREE HOURS as $400k-a-year Boston schools boss faces scrutiny over failing transportation

City Council demands emergency hearing as damning videos expose systemic failures in Boston's $189 million school transportation system

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BOSTON — Wheelchair-bound children were left stranded at a Boston high school for nearly three hours this week — as questions mount over the district's $400,000-a-year superintendent and a transportation system in crisis.
The students, including one who requires timed medical care, waited in vain at Fenway High School as their bus simply failed to show.
School ended at 3:35 p.m.
By 6 p.m., the bus still hadn't arrived.
It had only just left the depot.
Social media post calling out BPS for stranded special needs students
A parent calls out BPS after special needs students were left stranded at Fenway High, with staff forced to stay hours after dismissal. Credit: @themotoe
'This bus hasn't had an assigned driver in weeks,' one furious parent wrote on social media.
'There are 2 wheelchair students, one student who needs medical care at a designated time and one student who has limited communication.'
Teachers were forced to stay hours past their shifts.
Parents who couldn't leave work — or didn't have cars — could only watch helplessly from afar.
Follow-up post revealing the bus had no driver for weeks
A follow-up post reveals the bus hadn't had an assigned driver in weeks and only left the Freeport yard at 6 p.m. — over two hours after dismissal. Credit: @themotoe

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'None of these kids are home with their families, eating dinner, doing homework, spending time,' the post continued.
'This is not OK! It happens all too often.'
The incident has sparked fury — and an emergency intervention from City Hall.

Councilors SLAM 'failing' system

Councilors Erin Murphy and Ed Flynn filed an emergency hearing order on February 11 demanding answers.
City Council emergency hearing order on school bus failures
The emergency hearing order filed by Councilors Murphy and Flynn on February 11, 2026.
Their order reveals:
  • Buses routinely arriving hours late
  • Special needs students left waiting 'until evening'
  • More than 20,000 children affected by the chaos
  • A $189 million annual budget failing to deliver reliable service

Superintendent's $400k salary under scrutiny

Superintendent Mary Skipper took the top job in 2022 on a $300,000 salary.
It has since ballooned to nearly $400,000 — making her one of the highest-paid education bosses in Massachusetts.
Mayor Michelle Wu, meanwhile, has been focused on climate compliance scores and gas stove bans.
The school buses? Not so much.
Disabled children in wheelchairs.
Waiting in the dark.
For a bus that never came.
This is Boston Public Schools in 2026.

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