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FIRST TAKE Te Mental Health of the Industry WRITTEN BY RYAN GRAY E


ach March in the following pages, we at STN bring you stories on how to better ensure the health of your fleet. Te same holds true this month, as we feature articles on proper maintenance policies and procedures, the evolution of maintenance scheduling and tracking, and measuring liability in the garage to


keep staff safe, to name a few. Te goal is to keep school buses in tip-top operating shape for the safety of some 26 million students nationwide. Additionally, current events dictate that I speak not only to safety but also to another


level of health, that being the mental variety. Te entire student transportation community suffered in December when 20 students and six teachers and administrators were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Tis heinous crime is referred to as the second-worst school shooting in U.S. history. Te tears had barely dried, but the wounds were still open when awful news hit us once again, this time out of Midland City, Ala. Tere, school bus driver Charles “Chuck” Poland, Jr., was shot and killed by a troubled neighborhood man who demanded two young student riders. Poland heroically stood up to Jimmy Lee Dykes and paid the ultimate price as a result, but not before 20 of the students were able to evacuate through the rear emergency exit. Dykes did manage to flee with one little boy after shooting Poland, and the resulting hostage situation finally came to an end six days later. (Editor’s note – See our Top Story “He Was Teir Hero,” starting on page 18.) Te mental health of Dykes was certainly precarious and eventually surpassed the


breaking point. But ultimately he is of no concern to me beyond the growing need to identify and treat the mentally unstable in our society. What does concern me is the health and stability of the 20 young lives who survived the Jan. 29 incident, and the young boy who made it out of the homemade, underground bunker on Feb. 4. Teir mental state over the following weeks, months and years will certainly be fragile and worthy of the utmost care, as it will be for their families. Te same goes for the family, friends and co-workers of Poland. I also fear for the millions of students and student transporters nationwide, those who ride and operate school buses, as well as countless other students, teachers and school staff who find themselves in an era where, sadly, such shootings are becoming more commonplace. More than ever, the student transportation industry and the school community as a whole must reaffirm safety and security for children both in the classroom and on the bus … and for their own livelihood. Driving a school bus is often a thankless job, with the alarm clock sounding well before dawn and a host of distractions and challenges waiting once the bus leaves the yard to start the day. And for their trouble, most school bus drivers are paid at or below the poverty line. With drivers and other transportation staff already tasked with so much, ensuring


stability for students is a difficult task to be sure, but it is not an insurmountable obstacle. In fact, most drivers who have been behind the wheel for any length of time have already been providing this assuredness. It is just needed now more than ever. It is imperative that Chuck Poland Jr., like Tennessee school bus driver Joyce Gregory


eight years before, did not die in vain. May they both be remembered for their courage, service and ability to, once again, inspire those who already inspire us all. 


14 School Transportation News March 2013


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