A school bus company owned by the Republican candidate for State Senate was fined $1,000 in 2017 after a kindergarten student was left sleeping on a bus.
Micheline Attieh, who is challenging incumbent Joseph Lagana (D-Paramus) in the 38th district, owns 4 Diamond Transportation; the company was contracted for several bus routes with the Paterson Board of Education.
The Paterson Times reported in December 2017 that a kindergartener being transported between schools had fallen asleep on the bus, and neither the bus driver nor an aide noticed. The child was found after a supplemental check performed by the bus driver before the bus arrived at the yard for the night.
The acting superintendent of schools told Attieh that the bus driver was no longer permitted to drive in Paterson and pulled any transportation-related responsibilities from the aide. Attieh’s company was fined $1,000, but the Paterson schools did not terminate Attieh’s contract despite 33 violations the previous year.
Attieh’s campaign manager, Dylan Hill, pushed back on the severity of the incident.
“Micheline Attieh operates a responsible small business that is dedicated to providing safe, responsible bus servicing for our children and her record speaks for itself,” he said. “Her company is fully licensed by the State of New Jersey, insured and bonded, and no disciplinary actions have been taken against her or her company by the State or any regulatory body.”
But Lagana’s campaign manager, Reed Elman, disagrees.
“Attieh’s record on school bus safety should deeply concern Bergen County voters,” said Elman. “She’s asking for the public’s trust as a candidate but has already demonstrated a lack of regard for the safety of children.”
Elman pointed to Lagana’s sponsorship of school bus safety legislation following a 2018 crash of a Paramus school bus that killed two and injured over 40.
“He has continued to call out the state Department of Education for its unacceptable inaction in implementing his reforms to govern companies like Attieh’s own,” stated Elman.
Hill dismissed the issue as a political attack by “failed politicians desperately trying to distract from their records two weeks from Election Day.”
Attieh has faced some legal and financial challenges as well. In 2018, 4 Diamond Transportation and Attieh were sued by a finance company. She didn’t respond to the lawsuit and wound up paying off a $144,383 default judgment. The bus company also faced an Internal Revenue Service tax lien in 2016; Attieh paid off the $58,000 judgment in 2019.
Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh, who was serving as a city councilman at the time of the incident, suggested that Attieh’s record as a school bus company owner ought to be taken seriously by Bergen County voters.
“There is no greater responsibility than ensuring the safety of our children,” said Sayegh. “It is very troubling. I would not vote for her.”
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