“Doing the right thing over the
expedient thing is the right thing.” — Dirk Kempthorne, former U.S. Secretary of the Interior
‘NEVER TAKE THE ADVICE OF THE NAYSAYERS’ In a poignant speech by Dirk Kempthorne, the former U.S.
Secretary of the Interior, Idaho governor and senator, ex- pressed his admiration for the school bus industry, pointing out that drivers must handle multiple job titles, from social workers to police officers. “I have immeasurable respect for you,” said Kempthorne,
who reminded attendees that “doing the right thing over the expedient thing is the right thing.” Kempthorne advised those in attendance to forge past any
negative opinions concerning the fight for federal dollars, adding that “NAPT connects you in a common purpose and a strong unified national voice.” Tis message of hope for federal
funding was further
touched on during a speech by Bill Arrington, general manag- er of the Transportation Security Administration Highway’s Motor Carrier division. After updating everyone on the school bus threat assessment, which was still waiting for ap- proval from the Department of Homeland Security before it heads to Congress, Arrington expressed his optimism that the final report will give legislators the necessary in- formation to provide funding for the school transportation industry and will prompt the focus on TSA’s anti-terrorism efforts on school buses. “Secretary [Janet] Napolitano said that no one has a better
look at the world than a school bus driver,” said Arrington, adding, “She believes it’s time to place more emphasis on sur- face transportation.”
MORE THAN ONE WAY TO SKIN A CAT (OR SAVE MONEY) Sometimes prevention is the best medicine, and for school
districts, that can mean millions of dollars in savings. For STN columnist and NAPT presenter Peggy Burns, although the times have changed, the issues that result in a lack of preven- tion have not. “I see that there are some battles that still must be fought
— battles like sexual harassment on the bus, distracting employment disputes, the potential for harm on the bus to vulnerable students with disabilities,” said Burns during her keynote address. “Given that the one constant in life is change, I’m going to ask you to continue to strike a balance between what has been, what is, and what will come next for pupil transportation.” Burns also stressed the connection between student trans-
portation and student learning. “You don’t just take them somewhere — you take them to
school, to the gateway to learning.” She went on to stress the importance of communicating
with parents to establish trust and a sense of partnership that would benefit pupil transporters in the end. Burns’ message on working pro-actively was also the back-
drop for much of what she spoke about in both her “Managing Students: Te Changing Legal Landscape” and “Resolving Dif- ficult Employee Transportation Situations” workshops. Taking cues from actual lawsuits, Burns and co-presenter Mark Hin- son, the assistant superintendent of human resources for Adams 12 Five Star Schools in Torton, Colo., explained both the whys and why nots of lawsuits concerning training, sexual harassment, and student information. “You are operating with too few people and too little time,”
said Burns, in turn describing a common situation for many transportation departments. n
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