Mike Simmons
WORKING Hand in Hand
Arkansas relationship helps NASDPTS, American Association of School Administrators forge new bonds By Thomas G. Dolan
T Dr. Benny Gooden Te busing of children to and from school and their education
in the classroom has been, at least in the public’s view, two some- what related but basically separate activities. In fact, says Mike Simmons, president of the National Association of State Direc- tors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS), “In years past there hasn’t been a whole lot of collaboration on the national level between our association and the American Association of School Administrators (AASA).” Tis collaboration is now necessary, Simmons is convinced, as
is AASA President Benny L. Gooden. It bodes well that Simmons, as state director of transportation in Arkansas, and Gooden, as superintendent of the Fort Smith Public Schools in Fort Smith, Ark., have a long, productive relationship of working together. Simmons, who started at the Department of Education in
1984, has been involved in several different aspects of education. For a number of years he worked in and later ran a risk man- agement association, which insured schools and school districts. Simmons, who became state director of transportation in 2000, says in Arkansas, transportation isn’t funded per se, so he relies on local administrators to understand and embrace the fact that transportation is an integral part of the education system, rather than just an ancillary function. Simmons is also a member of AASA, so he plays a dual admin-
istrator role. But now on the national level, in view of the current economic, political climate and other issues, Simmons says he feels it’s imperative that NASDPTS promotes a similar concept of the integral relationship between transportation and education. He acknowledges that, in the past, NASDPTS tended to drill down to strictly transportation issues. Yet, now it’s promoting the fact that
38 School Transportation News Magazine April 2012
the yellow school bus is a vitallink in the education system. Te association is working with the American School Bus
Council to reach out to the school administrators via letters to chief state school officers on common issues, which today en- compass just about all those affecting education. Tese include budgets, fuel costs and state policy changes, such as California’s most recent attempt, though unsuccessful, to cut transportation funding to address state’s budget deficit. “What we’re trying to publicize is that, if we can’t get the stu-
dents to school, we can’t educate them. Tere are so many issues now that students face,” Simmons says. “You have to get them to school so they can eat breakfast. Kids are living farther away from school, and both parents are working more. So there are a lot of kids that, if we didn’t transport them, would never get to school. So we’re joining forces with any education association we can to try to solve these issues.” But perhaps the main issue has to do with regulations. Sim-
mons refers to the fact that student transportation is being increasingly bombarded with more federal and state regulations, such as environmental issues related to school buses. “Emission standards now in place have added thousands and
thousands of dollars to the cost of buses,” says Simmons. “Yes, of course, we want to see newer and more economical buses on the road. But we have all these additional costs without ways to pay for them. So we’re still seeing older buses on the road. I’m sure, from the administrators’ standpoint, they feel the same way. Not just transportation but the entire education system is being over-regulated.” Gooden has 37 years experience as a school superintendent,
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