Watch CBS News

Broward School District's Bus Boss Resigns

BROWARD (CBSMiami) – The shakeup in the Broward School District's top transportation brass just became an earthquake.

Chester Tindall, the district's director of transportation, is resigning after mounting pressure from the school board and bus drivers. Both claim Tindall has done a sloppy job managing the department.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports Tindall will retain the title of director and continue collecting his $125,000 salary until his resignation takes effect March 1, 2013.

Tindall arrived about a year ago, tasked with turning around a long-troubled department that had been criticized for nepotism and routinely ran tens of millions of dollars over budget.

He wasted no time getting down to business.

Tindall dismissed some employees and overhauling how the department handled tasks such as assigning routes to drivers. Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie, who had worked with Tindall in Chicago, was one of his biggest supporters.

But Runcie found it increasingly difficult to justify his support after the school year began with weeks of disastrous bus service. School buses showed up late, arrived early and sometimes failed to show up altogether, infuriating parents.

"A large part of it was that [Tindall] probably felt he didn't want to continue being a distraction to the initiatives we put in place," Superintendent Robert Runcie told the Sun-Sentinel.

Tindall's resignation comes less than two weeks after other top Broward transportation officials resigned under pressure.

(©2012 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel and CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed to this report.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.