ANALYSIS As transportation departments experience
severe cuts and, in many cases, are completely eliminated, many ask what we can do about it. In some cases we’re simply the victim of larger eco- nomic forces that are out of our control. However, in most cases there are things we can do to both improve our standing and security. What we can- not do as an industry is accept the status quo.
It’s Time for
Transportation Departments to Wake Up
By Pete Meslin
SAFETY JUST ISN’T GOOD ENOUGH… ANYMORE Safety can no longer be the only answer in
response to the issues we face. Yes, our reputa- tion has been built on safety, and it is still our top priority. We spend time and money we no longer have striving for even the slightest improvement in student safety. It may be un- comfortable for us to think otherwise, but we have to consider the ramifications of adding a new safety feature. How much safer would it really make things when compared to the possi- bility that routes might be eliminated to pay for it? Shouldn’t we be talking about incremental safety improvements compared to the lack of
safety for those students we can no longer af- ford to transport?
WHAT BUSINESS ARE YOU IN? When asked who you work for, you’re missing
the boat if the answer is simply a bus company or a district transportation department. We are not just “an extension of the classroom.” We’re in the education business. We have to make ourselves invaluable to the educational process and, by extension, invaluable to business man- agers and school boards. Ask yourself, what have you done to help education? To the extent our logistics present challenges to educators’ goals, we’re an obstacle, not an asset. It’s not about us. It’s about educating students. Instead of digging in our heels and making it “us” versus “them,” we have to seek out opportunities to be part of the educational process. Periodically, we hear touching stories about the
difference a bus driver makes in a child’s life. How- ever, we don’t hear the day-in and day-out impact. It is assumed we care for children, but we seem to demonstrate that fact only in the pride we take in
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10939B Reed Hartman Hwy. • Cincinnati, OH 45242 52 School Transportation News Magazine June 2010 PRODUCT: SAFEGUARD STAR
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