off,” said Langlois, adding that she hoped the study would provide insight into how her depart- ment could improve efficiencies via the bell time change. “Tis was a great opportunity for us to in- teract and share information. It was a chance for staff, who do not normally attend conferences, to talk to others employed in the same great field.” After all was said and done, one of the most


important lessons learned came from the public relations LED group. Langlois realized that her staff does not do enough to share information on their school bus operation with the school dis- trict, parents and community-at-large, admitting that she and her staff “keep our successes to our- selves.” Robinson agreed that the department needs to start “cheerleading for themselves,” which could go a long way as they prepare the district for the up- coming efficiency changes. When it came to the implementation of the


new bell schedule, the group was able to develop a number of different options to placate some of the issues the district has faced with the change. One of the main challenges involved the students who op-


who had seen similar outbursts in his ju- nior high and high school students. But seating assignments, refusing to start driving until all the kids were properly seated and a general zero-tolerance pol- icy toward bullying soon turned things around. However, the elementary stu- dents were another story. Monongalia Superintendent Frank


Devano was neither able to corroborate Chancellor’s or his mother’s allegations that attempts to report the bullying to the school administration had been ignored nor that a solution was being worked on. He said the school principal had been on sick leave for several months and there was no timetable for a return to work. But he added that, while the district does take student behavior problems very seriously and does everything in its power to ad- dress any issues, if anything fell through the cracks, LeMasters performed com- mendably in “stepping up.” “It was a pretty, how can I put it, wild


bunch,” LeMasters recalled. “Tere were other instances on the bus I had to straight- en out. It was always, ‘He took this, she took that.’ So I made those kids sit up front.” But LeMasters soon discovered it did little good to report the shenanigans to


tion out from attending their neighborhood school, or school of choice students. Although many districts are beginning to curtail this practice due to budget con- straints, Beaverton continues to transport their “option students” as they were referred to in the LED report. Te report recommends creating a model that will be “adaptable to future chang-


es” and offered five different options, with the final option — leaving everything operating in its current format — not recommended by the LED participants. “As with all districts in Oregon and around the country, the fiscal crisis has started


to effect efficiency. So I think this project gave them some steps to use as they move forward; they’re learning that saying ‘yes’ to everything the customer asks for may not always be possible or replicable in times of budget uncertainties,” added Robinson. ■


parents, as he said most sided with their children. And while behavior on the bus had improved, he could still see in his rearview mirrors that questionable behav- ior was taking place after unloading. “When I would pull away, that’s when I’d


start seeing some things happening in my mirror, but at that point I couldn’t do too much,” said LeMasters. “Tere were times I’d stay there until I could see [Chancellor] made it home safe, but then of course I had other parents who would be upset if I wasn’t on time getting their kids home. You can’t pamper this child too much because then you have these parents jumping down your throat and wanting you fired.” So when Andrea Coger asked him if he


could simply drop off Chancellor, his broth- ers and sister first before the other kids, LeMasters was intent on finding a solution. It would only present a change in the order of unloading the kids, he reasoned, and ei- ther way he would still need to turn the bus around at the end of the street. He approached his union representa-


tive, Elaine Prickett, a Monongalia bus driver herself and daughter of Robert (Bob) Prickett and brother of Robert Duane Prickett, both retired transportation direc- tors for the district. She approached the


administration and campaigned for the slight route alteration. LeMasters drove the route in his personal vehicle during his spare time and took photos of the street and the proposed new drop-off location. With the help of Prickett, he was soon al- lowed to afford Chancellor that small but valuable added protection from his bully. “He wasn’t changing the route, just turn-


ing around, which he had to do anyway. We worked it out,” Prickett added. “Some- times, you have to look up other avenues to see what you can do for [the kids].” Te bullying has since stopped com-


pletely, Coger said. His mother added that the other boy still attends the same school but recently moved to another part of town and no longer is on Chancel- lor’s bus. Another change came in respect to driver training. Prickett said that the little if any training on student behavior management has become 18 hours of training that spreads out over the entire school year. And LeMasters learned the value of taking things into his own hands. “It was a struggle. It’s something in my


opinion they should have said, ‘Yeah go ahead and do it,’” LeMasters added. “But I had to wait, and that needs to stop. Tis handcuffs drivers.” ■


www.stnonline.com 43


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