Head Start, School Districts Work in Many Ways to Keep Busing Kids
In Oregon, Susan Hunt, transportation service coordinator for
the Oregon Child Development Coalition (OCDC), has to operate her Head Start program like a private business, similar to any stu- dent transporter. Te coalition is the only grantee in the state and serves more than 4,000 children. She must work with school dis- tricts by contracting them for certain things such as maintaining the Coalition’s fleet of buses or outfitting its buses with seat belts. Meanwhile, in North Carolina, Carol Bowes, certified public
transportation supervisor for Person County Schools, doubles as the manager of the buses for the school district and as op- erator of the rural school district’s one Head Start program. It serves about 160 Head Start children who are all bused with the district’s exceptional children to the same school. Her issue with busing Head Start children is making sure the school district places them on buses for no more than 60 minutes. “Sometimes I have been able to pick up a child because the
bus ride would be longer than 60 minutes,” said Bowes. When it comes to Head Start programs and transportation,
there is no cookie-cutter method, whether school districts operate them or independent organizations run them and have to work with school districts. At a time when everyone’s budgets are be- ing cut and their resources are being reduced, it’s become more important to keep transportation going for Head Start children. “As Head Start, we’re getting kids ready for school not only for
❝
the classroom, but for how to ride the school bus and how to be safe around the school bus,” said Hunt. “We also are giving them some confidence on how to interact with kids on the school bus. Basically, how we can get them on the right track to begin with.” Whatever the structure in a given state, both entities are deal- ing with budget constraints and are finding ways of working
Budget setbacks are making Head Start programs and school districts work closer together to keep their buses running for the youngest students.
So, Hunt does things as efficiently as possible with the budget
she has. For example, to maintain OCDC’s 60-bus fleet, she does her best to always contract with school districts to conduct main- tenance and inspections. If some of her buses need retrofitting with seat belts, she also will look to school districts to do the job. Tis is a case in which school districts can add some money to its budget to run its fleet. “I think given the economy, there could be more school districts interested in this because it could give them another revenue stream,” Hunt said. Maintaining the eight buses in Person County Schools isn’t so
much an issue as is dealing with high fuel costs, which also affects the one Head Start-operated bus.
Sharing resources is becoming extremely important and something that the federal government wants us to do more of.
❞ — Susan Hunt, Oregon Child Development Coalition
together. For school districts, this may be a good opportunity to take advantage of the possible revenue-generating benefits of lending their school buses to Head Start programs. However, they also are some issues to consider. For example, a school dis- trict may get paid by a Head Start agency to retrofit some of its buses with integrated child seats. But the potential then exists for fewer non-Head Start students to ride those buses. “It’s a changing atmosphere out there,” said Hunt. “Nobody
has a lot of money, whether it’s the school district or the state. Sharing resources is becoming extremely important and some- thing that the federal government wants us to do more of.”
24 School Transportation News Magazine November 2011 “What the state budgeted is 35 cents less than what diesel is
(currently) costing us,” she said. Tough Bowes is technically a state employee, she always works with the school district when it comes to these types of transportation-related issues. At Person County Schools, Head Start is the district’s program,
and Head Start children are bused with the district’s exceptional children. Bowes said when it comes to working with the EC director, and the school district in general, it’s a good relationship. “I understand that some people have a terrible time working
together,” she said. “But we just work together on how to handle the issues.” ■
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