SHOW the REPORTER


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Student transporters take in a break in the rainy weather and the view of the Grand River nestled beside the DeVos Place Convention Center.


bus driver Charles Poland Jr., and the kidnap- ping of a 5-year-old student with autism that took place in Midland City, Ala. Donny Bynum, superintendent of schools for Dale County, Ala., described the events leading up to the day local resident Jimmy Lee Dykes took Poland’s life while Poland was protecting the students on his bus while dropping them off at their bus stop. During his presentation, Bynum showed


video footage taken from inside Poland’s bus the day before local resident Jimmy Lee Dykes boarded the bus and demanded to have two children to hold them hostage as a protest against the government. Dykes had approached the bus that day to strike a conversation with Poland, which indicated Dykes had a premed- itated plan. Ten Bynum played the actual 911 call made by 16-year-old Trey Watts while the student was in the back of the bus witnessing the incident unfold. Bynum said one unexpected outcome from the


event was how the story evolved from the initial local coverage. “When the national media comes, the perspective is changed,” he said. Te school district, he added, had no immedi-


ate communication procedures in order to deal with requests for information and interviews by the media. Bynum also relied on fellow school communicators, as he is also the school district’s public information officer. Another major chal- lenge he had was determining when to reopen the district’s seven schools while still focusing on the boy, named Ethan, who was still being held captive by Dikes. Bynum said some learning lessons from the


4 THE SHOW REPORTER • OCT 18-24, 2013


event were improving communication with local law enforcement; updating all contact informa- tion for students, faculty and staff; having GPS tracking on all buses, since in rural areas, timing is everything; and reinforcing training to all bus drivers. He noted that the district continues to fo- cus on the students who were on Poland’s bus, and their families. Tey still receive counseling, and will continue to do so until the end of the year. “Te main thing is, it’s not about us. It’s about


others, and certainly Mr. Poland exhibited that quality,” Bynum said. From one unexpected event to another — a


major accident — Denny Couglin, consultant and owner of the School Bus Training Company, and Lt. Brian Reu, pupil transportation director of the Minnesota State Patrol, presented findings of the Dec. 9, 2006, Ham Lake, Minn., school bus crash. Brake failure was to blame for the incident that sent 18 children to the hospital and put one woman in a coma. Te school bus driver told investigators that


his brakes turned “rock hard” that morning as he tried to turn the bus, which had 41 students on board heading to their elementary school. Te driver said he swerved to avoid two vehicles but ended up hitting them anyway before the bus struck a traffic pole and came to a stop. Te Minnesota State Patrol cited the cause of the brake failure to modifications involving the brake booster that provides auxiliary braking power that were made after the bus was found to have leaking brake seals. Te modifications to the brake boosters on the bus, as well as seven other buses, were performed by the contractor’s


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INSIDE


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SPECIAL REPORT: MEET THE


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Catching a Foxx


American School Bus Council nabs U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to ride school bus, learn about issues affecting industry during visit of Arizona district for back-to-school event


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