end of the game. Te winner is notified by early July, weeks before the show. Kathy Potts won that year, but it wasn’t
her first time in Reno. Te transportation coordinator for the South Central Commu- nity Action Program Head Start in Monroe, Ind., was a regular STN EXPO attendee un- til SCAAP was hit hard by budget cuts. But winning allowed her to attend once again.
A Busy School Year for
Latest ‘Plinko’ Winner While excited to attend the 19th an- nual STN EXPO, Colleen Murphy could not fully prepare for her trip to Reno, Nev., at the time of this writing. She was already getting ready for the new school year in the fall. For about the last six years, Murphy has dealt with school district budget reduc- tions at Austintown Local Schools, which means she has to, once again, reroute the district’s fleet of 50 buses, 43 of which are used for regular routes. ”We have combined, condensed and
reduced our miles, drivers and hundreds of thousands of dollars,” she told STN in early June, when school was still in ses- sion for another 30 days and she was busy as ever. In addition to the normal daily duties specific to her title of transportation su- pervisor, she was filling in wherever else she could, including driving the buses in the morning and afternoon. A recent driver shortage resulted after the board of education voted to eliminate driver health care benefits to curb costs. Instead of being behind the wheel, Murphy said many drivers were making doctor’s ap- pointments before their benefits expired. About five hours out of Murphy’s 12-
hour day were dedicated to driving. “Running eight routes for two weeks
allowed me to put subs on the buses,” she said. At the same time, Murphy also was interviewing qualified bus drivers for the new school year. Plus, she had been summoned for jury duty. But she wasn’t complaining. For Mur-
phy, and many others in this industry, it’s all part of the job.
See Us At Booth # 130
www.stnonline.com 27
“I do not know of another conference that offers so many workshops specific to Head Start transportation,” she said. In 2011, Linda Slemp won Play2Win,
which enabled her to attend the EXPO for the first time. Te executive secre- tary of the Illinois School Transportation Association said she didn’t struggle with answering the multiple-choice questions.
Te 35-year industry veteran knew most of the answers off the top of her head. Slemp said she intends on playing again
each year, so new participants beware. “What a great time I had at the EXPO. I
learned so much. When I arrived back to work after, I think my friends got a little tired of me raving about the fun educa- tional week I had.” ■
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