Howard County school leaders on Monday voiced concern that students and families were getting caught in the middle of contentious contract negotiations between one of the system’s bus providers, Zūm Services, and its drivers.

On Friday, unionized Zūm bus drivers passed out flyers to students, encouraging families to join their fight to secure living wages from Zūm Services, their employer, school officials said.

“Join us in urging the county and school board to act now — and ensure fair pay and fair treatment for the workers who keep your children safe every day,” the flyer reads.

Schools Superintendent Bill Barnes and school board chair Jolene Mosley said in a joint statement to families Monday afternoon that they want to see drivers fairly paid but have concerns about the union’s tactics.

“To be clear, we support nearly everything included in the flyers. ... However, students are not an appropriate means for disseminating this information, and no other entity would be permitted to conduct such a campaign as it is in violation of HCPSS policy,” the school leaders said.

A union representative did not return a request for comment Monday evening.

Zūm drivers, who handle roughly a third of the school system’s transportation routes, authorized a strike earlier this month. The vote came as the union worked to negotiate an inaugural contract with Zūm Services.

The flyers urge families to contact the school system’s student transportation director because, as the union puts it, the county government and school board “have refused to step in and provide the funding needed to get a fair deal done.”

According to the school system, its agreement with Zūm states that pay rate adjustment requests are only permitted during contract renewals. Such talks will start this winter, for the next school year.

Officials also noted that any increase to the school system’s allocation to Zūm would require taking funding away from student instruction and schools.

“The pressure being redirected to HCPSS is unproductive and a distraction to a process that is between the employees (represented by Teamsters) and their employer (Zum),” the school leaders’ joint statement says.

Zūm, a San Francisco-based company, became a contractor for Howard County public schools in 2023.

The partnership got off to a rocky start when the company flew in around 70 bus drivers from Washington state before the first day of school to cover routes. They weren’t enough, leaving thousands of Howard County students stranded without bus service.

Zūm drivers are responsible for 196 of Howard County’s 560 bus routes for the 2025-26 academic year, schools spokesperson Brian Bassett previously said. Students at 50 county schools may receive transportation from a Zūm driver.

In February, 300 Zūm drivers, trainers and bus attendants voted to unionize and joined Teamsters Local 570, a Baltimore chapter that represents workers in a number of industries, including passenger transportation.

“We apologize to the students and families who were used as messengers for influence in a process between Zum Services and Teamsters Local Union #570,” Barnes and Mosley’s joint statement says.

School officials hope for a “swift resolution” between the bus drivers and Zūm and for students not to get caught up in the efforts again.

Bus drivers “are wonderful people who do exceptional work,” the school leaders said in their statement. “They are often the first person to greet students in the morning and the last to say goodbye in the afternoon, and their efforts are essential to the entire student experience. We value all our drivers and the contractors who employ them.”