20 Years of STN: Reader Recollections
Troughout the next year, School Transportation News will publish thoughts from across the industry each month on the origins of the magazine, which was first published in September 1991 by Editor Emeritus Bill Paul.
“School bus transportation was still waiting to see the ultimate ramifications at the federal level from the tragic crashes in
Carrolton, Ky. (1988), and Alton, Texas (1989), and the National Academy of Sciences report of 1989. Tere had already been a number of research projects undertaken and Notices of Proposed Rulemaking issued by NHTSA, and of course, the public hearings and accident reports from the National Transportation Safety Board on the two crashes. And not to forget the efforts by advocates and the media in questioning the safety of yellow school bus transportation. Combined, my recollection of the ‘landscape’ when STN was founded was a pupil transportation community which was actively engaged in all of the activities at the Federal level, but uncertain as to what actual changes would be made to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards which apply to school buses. It was an exciting and interesting time, to say the least.” — Charles Gauthier, NHTSA, NASDPTS (Ret.)
“Bill Paul changed the way we received school transportation news in 1991 with the introduction of STN. Rather than just a
monthly magazine with feature articles that may have taken months to write, we were given a monthly with articles containing the latest news, information and court decisions. Bill started calling state directors (and others) on a regular basis to see what was happening in our states and districts, a practice that the STN staff still does.” — D. Leeds Pickering, Wyoming Department of Education (Ret.)
“I remember when the first issues came out. I still have most of them ... had them for 20-plus years. I have always enjoyed reading
thoughts and understanding different perspectives from professionals in the school transportation industry.” — Jeff Flatt, Atlanta Public Schools
“STN began in Covington, Ky., at the Southeastern States Pupil Transportation Conference. At the time, Bill was the editor at
School Bus Fleet and a recognized force in the school bus business. He asked the chair for a short time on the agenda. His request was granted. After all, he was the editor of SBF and must have something monumental to impart. Well, he did! He shocked the audience. He announced his resignation from SBF and his subsequent formation of a new publication under his direction. It was then that School Transportation News was formed. He acknowledged that it would be a tough row to hoe, but he believed strongly in the need for another slant to the yellow bus business, particularly from the editorial side.” — Bob Rubin, Easy Way Safety Services
“It was a publication focusing on news stories occurring
in the industry as opposed to features or longer articles. Te format was in a ‘newspaper’ style and, if memory serves correctly, was pubished every two weeks. Te publication pre- dated the Internet, so having access to current news-oriented issues and topics offered a fresh perspective of what was going on in school transportation.” — Pete Baxter, Indiana Department of Education (Ret.)
Editor’s note: STN has been published once a month, except in December, since September 1991.
12 School Transportation News Magazine October 2011
“STN is always a welcomed monthly sight...ensuring our
ability to keep current with all things relevant to the pupil transportation business. Tank you, STN! Look forward to reading each issue and have learned a lot. Reading about past EXPOs. I have only been to one STN EXPO, I was wishing (like so many others) to win an all-expense-paid trip this year, as Head Start has no extra monies to go to Reno.” — Rolando Monsevalles, San Benito (Texas) CISD
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