I attended this school from August to September of 2008 in Paducah KY. Now, I am definitely going to check with my local DMV to be sure my license is considered valid after reading these articles.
I also had a really bad experience at this school. I was also in the motel that should have been condemned. Half of the bathrooms did not work and there were so many cockroaches there I was afraid to go to sleep as I thought they might carry me away.
We also had serious equipment problems. The trucks were always breaking down expecially at the time we were supposed to be taking our practice tests for our CDL's. More than half of the trailers were shut down because the trailer doors were falling off or the frames were shot.
One truck was shut down because of a radiator leak and and oil leak, while the other truck was out if service because the clutch went on it. And all the while the owner's son was complaining that he didn't have the money to repair them just after my class of 25 or 30 people had just started.
The instructors were all right when I was there but they were seriously understaffed. Instead of four people per instructor there were 8 - 10 people per instructor. We spent more time standing around in the sweltering sun then we did learning anything, as did one other gentleman in these articles.
I think that we all ought to get together somehow and start a class action lawsuit against this school.
I had a friend that got kicked out because he did not pass his test the second time around, but they did not give him a refund and he paid cash. I am still getting nasty phone calls and letters about the tuition ($12.000+)that I still owe this place and I do not ever plan on paying it!
I was also guaranteed a job upon graduation, and started with Star, but just after I started, my brother passed away and when I called Star to go back to work, I found that I no longer had a job. And I still am not finding one because of the experience level that I have. So here I am with my CDL's and not able to put them to use.