INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS NEW FACES
WITHIN THE PAST YEAR, NEW STATE DIRECTORS HAVE EMERGED ONTO THE SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION SCENE, LEARNING THE DETAILS OF THE JOB WRITTEN BY SYLVIA ARROYO
F
ive states have seen a change of the guard for their top school bus official. Te role these “state direc- tors” of pupil transportation play
vary from state to state. While some oversee statewide driver training and/or school bus inspections, others are involved with the finance and funding reimbursements. Some do both. And many find themselves in a newly created position or one that combines the responsibilities of two or more positions because of budget cuts. “We wish to welcome the new state
directors, not just to NASDPTS, but to the industry in general,” said Max Christensen, president of NASDPTS, the national state directors association, and school transpor- tation consultant for the Iowa Department of Education. “Teir addition brings new blood, new ideas and new leadership potential to us, which in turn will help to strengthen and grow NASDPTS and the industry at large in years to come.”
OREGON
Michael Wiltfong has been the director of school finance at the Oregon Department of Education for five years, but in August he was tasked with also
administering the pupil transportation unit that oversees state regulations and driver training. Before Wiltfong, Steven Huillet had served that role since May 2009. He announced his retirement last November, and is now the new director of administra- tive services for NASDPTS. Like in many states, the Department of Education elected to not hire a replacement, instead expanding Wiltfong’s responsibilities. Still, Wiltfong said the decision to roll both services into one position was a good fit. He and Huillet worked closely together on funding issues, so he is very familiar with school bus and equipment purchasing. His new duties include overseeing staff that administer training to bus drivers in the state in addition to handling certifications,
parental disputes or other general issues related to student transportation. “Tere’s additional responsibility, and the need to come up to speed on things. It will take some work to do that, but as I have described to others, I didn’t know how to be a director of school finance when I first started,” he said. “It’s a new challenge with pupil transportation, but I’m up for it.” Wiltfong said he’d like to first work on updating the state’s training manual, and then look into new technology that can help increase school bus security and safety. “We’re always looking at new efficiencies, at innovative ways to save money, but at the same time provide outstanding services. Tose are my two primary initiatives,” said Wiltfong, whose own children ride the school bus. “I take this very seriously.”
VERMONT
Patrick McManamon began 2013 as transpor- tation program specialist for the Vermont Depart- ment of Motor Vehicle’s Division of Enforcement and Safety. Previously he worked in the same
division as a lieutenant in the commercial vehicle enforcement unit. In all, he’s been with the DMV for 12 years. He began in law enforcement in 1986 with the Burling- ton Police Department, and before that he was a Burlington firefighter. He said the state director position had been lost due to budget cuts and attrition, leaving Chief Inspector Drew Bloom to assume the responsibility. While Bloom still oversees the Education Unit, the state director position has been restored. McManamon works closely with com-
mercial vehicle inspectors and oversees the school bus driver-training program and its instructors. He already updated the state’s clinic curriculum and manual, including adding sections of school bus laws. Te new curriculum also includes a section on school bus drivers’ responsibilities when encoun- tering bullying or harassment that is taught
22 School Transportation News October 2013
by members of a state task force on bullying and harassment. He also is working on bet- ter alignment of the state’s regulations for school bus drivers with federal regulations that apply to commercial drivers. He said while this position was lost, “the
division was still involved, but a lot of the big projects were falling farther behind. Now, we’re opening up the lines of communication with drivers and with schools once again.”
KANSAS
Keith Dreiling began as the new director for the State Department of Education’s School Bus Safety and Education division in February. Te former state trooper succeeds Larry Bluthardt,
who retired last summer after 25 years at KSDE. Before his new position, Dreiling worked for the Kansas Highway Patrol for more than 27 years. Whereas before he would patrol the
highways and enforce the law for com- pliance, now Dreiling enforces regulation compliance through safety and education, which he said requires a different skill set. He said Wilma Crabtree, senior administra- tive assistant for the school bus safety unit, and safety consultant Debra Romine have been a big help in getting him acclimated to the job. Both continue in the department, working with him in administering school bus safety training statewide. With help from his staff, Dreiling has begun work on the unit’s training video library, website, state regulation manual and forming a partnership with the highway patrol to form committees to improve the school bus inspection process. He said the department’s annual School Bus Loading and Unloading survey will continue to be produced under his watch. “Te annual loading and unloading survey has been nationally recognized resource for over 40 years, and we plan to continue it,” Dreiling said, noting that Crabtree is the “heart and soul” of this report.
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