Family Ties,


The Christensen clan includes wife Lisa, 3-year-old Isaiah and 5-year-old Olivia.


Max Christensen has the past, present tools to lead NASDPTS By Art Gissendaner


For Iowa student transportation head


Max Christensen, who will succeed Mike Simmons as president of NASDPTS this coming October, it’s not a stretch to say stu- dent transportation is encoded in his DNA, as he was born into the business — literally. His father’s career as a school bus driver


in rural Iowa is commemorated in a pho- to adorning Christensen’s office wall. It shows Dale Christensen standing proudly beside his Ford school bus. Max cannot be sure, but he supposes his dad was on his route when he was informed of Max’s im-


pending arrival. And it gets better. “My parents had already decided on my


first name, but they couldn’t agree on a mid- dle name,” Christensen recounted. “So my Dad asked the students on his bus for sug- gestions. A little girl suggested ‘Corey,’ and the other children agreed. So did my parents.” Christensen’s destiny was set. “He is a tenacious person,” said Terry


Voy, director of school programs and ser- vices for the Iowa Association of School Boards and former state director of trans- portation. Christensen succeeded Voy


42 School Transportation News Magazine February 2012


as the Iowa executive officer for student transportation in 2003. “If he gets hold of an idea that will be


beneficial to schools and the Department of Education, he’ll go right at it. He is very personable and well liked among his peers.” Illinois State Director of Pupil Transpor-


tation Cinda Meneghetti agreed. She said Christensen is well respected throughout the student transportation industry for many reasons. “Max is a very hardworking, funny per- son who is very serious about his job. He


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