HEADLINES
How Video Helps NY School Districts Secure School Bus Funding
By Sylvia Arroyo Receiving voter approval for school
bus purchases is nothing new for school districts in New York State, but it has become challenging in the last five years since the economy took a hit. Adding to this challenge is that school boards are eyeing transportation as they look for ways to cut costs. “Te voters have felt that if they can’t
afford a new vehicle, why should they vote for us to have a new vehicle?” said Joe LaMarca, transportation director of Brockport Central School District, who, with the help of the local Board of Co- operative Educational Services, produced and posted on the district website a video to answer this question in an effort to gain public support. Te video features LaMarca outlining the
need for the district to purchase new bus- es, the costs associated with maintaining a new bus versus an old one and the inspec- tion process, among other things. It worked. LaMarca said voters in May approved the latest new bus purchase by a two-to-one margin, considered a substantial win. “We have used this video two years in
a row. It has been an effective tool for us,” he concluded. About 334 miles away at Croton-
Harmon School District, Transportation Supervisor Rochelle O’Mara came up with the idea of producing a video as part of her presentation to the school board at a pub- lic forum devoted to the upcoming budget. “Tey are always looking to cut, so I
like to be proactive and show them what they’re getting for their money,” said O’Mara, whose own video presented “A Day in the Life” of the transportation
department. Having this public forum, which was also televised locally, enabled O’Mara to show the video to the voting community to secure their support. “We have not had a past issue [with
purchasing new buses],” she said. “We’re very practical, we don’t overreach and we don’t buy the most expensive buses. But today in New York State, nothing is be- ing given. Tings have changed. You can never rest on your laurels, so I’m going to get what I need for my department.”
WORTH THE INVESTMENT Both LaMarca and O’Mara noted that,
though they may have to take an extra step to justify to the school board and the public their costs in running the de- partment and purchasing new buses, they understand where those decision-makers are coming from, especially the voting public. After all, they are taxpayers, too. “It’s a level of accountability and it’s OK
for us to justify what we need. I just see it as an extra step in educating the public,” LaMarca said. In his case, that extra step didn’t require
a lot of resources or time. He and the dis- trict’s public relations representative took a day to write the script, and the video production took about six hours. Te video features LaMarca and some district bus technicians. Educating the public is vital since voters in 1991 approved a 100-percent, door-to- door transportation for the district’s 4,000 students. Brockport Central covers about 72 square miles and is mostly rural. “We’re somewhat unique to other districts that have modified systems,” LaMarca added.
24 School Transportation News Magazine August 2012
Brockport Central’s video was designed to encourage voters to support an initiative to fund new school buses.
For the video O’Mara spearheaded, she
tapped into the talents of her staff and created an informal committee to take photos of the transportation department, depicting what happens on a typical day. She gave much credit to bus driver Kelly DeOrio, a recent college graduate who helped produce the video. From clearing the snow off of school
buses in the morning to checking the local road conditions, the video made viewers aware of what transportation of- ficials do every day. “Tey were shocked and amused,” said
O’Mara, who oversees the transport of 1,600 of the district’s 1,800 students. With the success of these videos, La-
Marca and O’Mara have, or are currently working on, additional videos that ad- dress other transportation-related issues. O’Mara said a study the school board
conducted last spring looked at the pos- sibility of contracting, yet the results showed a financially stable department. Tough she felt confident with the out- come, she fully supports the school board considering ways to save money. “We are on the taxpayer’s back, and we
should look at the money being spent,” she added. “We’re all taxpayers. Te mon- ey you save may be your own.” ■
Visit
www.stnonline.com/go/897 to view Brockport Central School District’s video and
www.stnonline.com/go/898 for Croton-Harmon School District’s video.
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