INDUSTRY CONNECTION In Brief


PICKERING THE LATEST STATE DIRECTOR TO ANNOUNCE RETIREMENT After 37 years in pupil transportation, 28 of those at the Wyoming Department of


Education, D. Leeds Pickering retired last month as the state’s director of pupil trans- portation and resigned as vice-chair of the National Congress on School Transportation steering committee. David Koskelowski, the program manager of traffic safety and pupil transportation in the department’s health, safety and nutrition unit, succeeded Pickering on Aug. 13. Pickering told School Transportation


D. Leeds Pickering


retired last month as Wyoming’s state director of pupil transportation, marking the third NASDPTS change this summer.


News last month that the dedicated district supervisors, mechanics, drivers, aides and office staff all contributed to easing his daily responsibilities as the chief administrator of school bus op- erations in the state. “Together we have been able to move transportation system into


Wyoming’s


the 21st century,” he added. “Te years have flown by because this was not a job — it was a mission that has received wide support from the districts, the Wyoming Department of Education, the legislature and the parents and students over the years.” He added that Koskelowski has been groomed to continue leading Wyoming’s pu-


pil transportation operations to the next level. “David has a long history in management positions in the Air Force and has been


working closely with me over the past 12 months to learn the intricacies of Wyoming pupil transportation,” Pickering said. “He is prepared to take over the program man- ager/state director’s position and continue the program’s forward movement.” Over the years, Pickering saw many advancements in school busing, including equip-


ment and policy improvements, implementation of the CDL system, and enhanced drug and alcohol testing to name a few. When he took the state director reins in 1982, he was the youngest NASDPTS member. Following the retirement of good friend Pete Baxter from the Indiana Department of Education earlier this summer, Pickering fin- ished his career as longest-serving state director.


TWO TEENS KILLED IN MISSOURI SCHOOL BUS CRASH A multiple vehicle collision involving two school buses, a semi truck and GMC Sierra


claimed the lives of two teens in Gray Summit, Mo., early last month. Initial reports indicated that the semi slowed for traffic and a roadway construction and was hit from behind by the pick-up truck driven by 19-year-old Daniel Schatz, a former reserve quar- terback for the University of Missouri football team and the son of Republican state House candidate Dave Schatz. Te two school buses traveling behind the pickup truck were taking the John F. Hodge High School marching band to Six Flags St. Louis. Te first school bus crashed into the rear of the SUV, overriding it and killing Schatz in


the process. Te second school bus proceeded to strike the first school bus in the right rear, killing 15-year-old bandmember Jessica Brinker. Te second collision then pushed the first bus on top of both the SUV and the semi cab.. Fifty children were on the two school buses, one as young as 6-years-old, apparently a


family member of an adult chaperone, with most ranging in age from 13 to 18. Twenty- four of the students suffered injuries, most of which were minor. A 16-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy were hospitalized with serious injuries. Although the accident was still under investigation by the NTSB and the Missouri


Highway Patrol for several months, an initial report indicated that inattentiveness on the part of the driver of the first bus caused it to collide initially, while a short following distance between the first and second bus caused the final rear-end collision. Te NTSB was also reportedly looking into whether seat belts should have been used. Five months prior, the entire St. James School District fleet of school buses were in-


14 School Transportation News Magazine September 2010


spected, with 22 of the 23 buses passing. Te one bus that did not pass had a mi- nor issue with an emergency window exit buzzer that was not working, but that is- sue was remedied the same day.


BUS DRIVER RECEIVES HEROISM AWARD Christina Rickert, a bus driver for Clark-


stown Central School District, received the 2010 New York State Bus Driver Hero- ism Award from the Pupil Transportation Safety Institute and the New York Associa- tion for Pupil Safety. Rickert was driving her school bus last winter when she saw three students playing on a snowbank not far from the roadside. Relying on experience and instinct, Rickert brought the bus to a stop. Moments later one of the students slipped on the snowbank and slid under the school bus. Even though she did not see the student slide under the bus, she stopped because she sensed the danger in their play, avoiding what could have been a tragedy. Rickert received the award in July at the NYAPT Annual Safety Conference.


PRESIDENT OBAMA AWARDS CITIZENS MEDAL TO 'ANGEL IN QUEENS' SCHOOL BUS DRIVER Every day at 9:30 p.m., after a day of


driving students through the streets of Queens, N.Y.,


school bus driver Jorge


Muñoz delivers food to a group of day laborers who gratefully thank him for every meal. After being featured in a New York Times article (www.stnonline. com/go/686) and being profiled on CNN Heroes, Muñoz was named a recipient of the 2010 Presidential Citizens Medal, an honor each sitting president has presented to deserving citizens for the past four decades. Visit www.whitehouse.gov/ citizensmedal to watch a video of President Obama presenting the awards to Muñoz and a dozen other deserving Americans as well as interviews with each recipient.


OHIO’S JAPIKSE NEW 2015 NCST CHAIR Pete Japikse of the Ohio Department of


Education is the new steering committee chair of the quinquennial National Con- gress on School Transportation, which prescribes and updates U.S. school bus specifications and standards.


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