School Transportation News Magazine | November 2009
the state specs. And as good leaders do, Weisinger makes sure every- one’s points of view are addressed, as long as they serve the interest of enhancing child safety. When all is said and done, those students are his No. 1 priority while being respectful of his peers. “He’s fair,” she added. “Everybody comes with what is best for their
area. What is a need for West Texas may not be a need for South Texas or North Texas. He wants to hear the needs for the whole state. He lis- tens diligently. He’s looking at [the entire issue] for the whole member- ship, not just what is best for Spring.” It’s an attitude indicative of his upbringing in the industry dating back
WEISINGER BRINGS HIS FAMILY MENTALITY TO WORK. HERE, HE INTRODUCES GRANDSONS TREVOR AND TYLER ENGLER TO THE YELLOW SCHOOL BUS.
All in the Family
Those who don’t know Brian Weisinger might still feel that his name is familiar. That’s because wife Marisa Weisinger is the technical specialist at Education Service Center Region 4 Transpor- tation Solutions in Houston. The two met sever- al times starting in 1995 at Texas Association for Pupil Transportation annual conferences and the school bus driver “Train the Trainer” acad- emy offered through Texas A&M. The program was modeled after the three-week California Highway Patrol School Bus Driver Trainer Pro- gram, and Brian attended the first classes that June as a transportation supervisor at Friend- swood ISD. He was invited to be an instructor but his baseball and softball coaching commit- ments kept him from accepting. In the mean- time, Marisa became the princicpal coordina- tor, but as Brian was in Houston and she was working in Fort Worth, a love connection would wait until after several more meetings at TAPT events and Marisa moved to Houston for her current position. In July 1999, the weekend af- ter that year’s TAPT conference, the couple wed.
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to 1978 when he began as a school bus mechanic at Clear Lake ISD out- side of Houston before moving on to Friendswood ISD, rising the ranks from lead technician to shop foreman to supervisor and then to acting director. After 20 years at Friendswood, he moved on to Spring ISD as the shop foreman and then became the assistant director under former TAPT president Marcia Edge. “She was a great leader and inspiration,” Weisinger said. “She taught
me a lot, like dealing with people on a large scale and handling crisis.” But perhaps he has taught himself the best lessons. His varied experi-
ence gives him critical insights into all aspects of transportation opera- tions. He’s one of the few directors that you’ll find nationwide who is also an ASE master technician. “I’ve been there and done that, so no one can pull one over me,”
Weisinger laughed. Since he has worked every level of student transportation, he is ad-
ept at creating a team environment, where all of his staff works well together and, according to him, the “key is to get drivers and techni- cians working together.” Brandon Billingsley, president of Heavy Duty Bus Parts in Willis, Texas, and a contributor to STN recalled something Weisinger told him during an interview for a preventative maintenance article in March 2008: “Ultimately, we’re in the service business. It starts in the shop where our technicians provide a service to the drivers, so the drivers can provide a service to the kids and to their parents and that is the service of safety.” “I think that really sums up Brian very well,” Billingsley said. “He takes
a big task at a large district and breaks it down to the basics. Once the basics are covered he creates a team atmosphere, and once everyone is onboard, a successful organization is created.” Within Spring ISD, Weisinger has also left an indelible mark. Bar-
ney said Weisinger is usually the first to embrace change, and oth- ers regularly turn to him as a resource for new programs and poli- cies. Four years ago, he implemented the Student Locator Program, which gives the district the capability of tracking where and when students are picked up and dropped off by their school bus. Cur- rently, he’s piloting a student ID program that uses badges to help districts monitor student absences, library access, food service ac- counting, provide bus GPS and can even help emergency respond- ers locate students within the campus building in the event of an emergency. Tey work actively and passively onboard buses as well as other school buildings. And he recently succeeded in getting an on-site day care center for his employees paid for by the district. “Brian is consistently on the edge of progress in relation to the
transportation industry,” Barney added. “Brian is a consummate professional whose work ethic and attention to detail are second to none. His leadership skills are admired by not only his staff, but by his peers.” n
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