FIRST TAKE
Extending 15 Minutes of Fame I’ve been reading dozens of local news reports from
Illinois to Hawaii to Florida that tell of some kind of malaise being faced by local student transportation services. Te reports all speak to the anxiety at school districts and in the community about where funding will come from next school year. File them under “the new normal.” Meanwhile, an episode of the PBS documentary
By Ryan Gray
series “America Revealed” aired on April 18 that dis- cussed the intricacies of mass transit in the United States. Sandwiched between segments on the New York City subway and the nation’s freight train system were five minutes dedicated to the largest and one of the most important systems of them all: school busing. During the episode “Nation on the Move,” host Yul Kwon says the
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Publisher: Tony Corpin Editor: Ryan Gray
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“humble school bus” is a vital part of our intricate and aging public trans- portation. In fact, school buses “work amazingly well considering how much we rely on them,” Kwon says, adding that there is no system quite like it anywhere in the world. Viewers meet Mike Meehan, a bus driver for Kingman Unified in Arizona.
He described himself as part mother, father, mediator, nurse and “cool uncle,” all while driving the big yellow bus. Te documentary then shows via GPS maps how the district’s 53 school buses traverse 1.5 million miles a year across district boundaries, which encapsulate an area roughly the size of Delaware. Like in many parts of the country, the school bus is the only mode of trans-
portation for many Kingman students to get to and from school. Kwon points out that, without Meehan and the “half-million member army” of drivers nationwide, our education system would be crippled without school buses. Te documentary further shows that school busing is not the only mode
of transportation that is hurting. Granted, the others (aviation, highways and rail) receive a lot of federal money that school buses do not, but our transportation system overall is at the breaking point. New efficiencies, such as technology, are necessary to help it evolve. In this issue, we read about how GIS mapping is making a big difference
for school districts that must increasingly rely on data to grow more efficient and cost-effective. When it comes to technology and the ability to purchase new buses, another article delves into how contractors can assist districts in making crucial upgrades to their fleets between new purchases. We also learn about innovative programs in a couple of states that help districts ex- tend their current fleet life. I found the PBS episode to be an important step forward in the battle for
public opinion. Visit
www.stnonline.com/go/880 to watch the segment and to read more. Only by sharing these stories and communicating the im- portance of the yellow bus will legislators, taxpayers and the media “get it” regarding the importance of student transportation. Make no mistake, the current economic environment and the constant
need to trumpet the benefits of school buses are frustrating to us all. But yel- low buses and the 26 million students who ride them are definitely worth it. ■
Contributing Editors:
Linda Bluth, Peggy Burns, Michelle Fisher, John Whelan, Dick Fischer, Denny Coughlin, Ned Einstein, Glen Moyer, Art Gissendaner, Anson Stewart, Shanna Thompson Zareski
Vice President: Colette Paul
General Manager: Branden Smeltzer Editorial Director: Ryan Gray
Director of Marketing: Chris Berry Ad Sales: Tony Corpin
Circulation: Andrea Hernandez Event Manager: Janna Smeltzer
Chairman of the Board: Bill Paul, STN Media Group Editorial Advisory Board:
Denny Coughlin, Consultant; Judith Dupille, Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles; Dick Fischer, Trans-Consult; Ron Love, Delaware DOE; Randy McLerran, National Bus Sales; Pete Meslin, Newport-Mesa Unified; Nancy Netherland, Migrant-Seasonal Head Start; Robert Pudlewski, Consultant; Alexandra Robinson, NAPT; Launi Schmutz, Washington County Schools
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10 School Transportation News Magazine June 2012
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