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mitted and executed an annual state school transportation budget of more than $90 million. One year, he oversaw efficiencies that resulted in a $3.4 million surplus. Love also revised the state school bus


Love is in the Air: For Delaware State Director It’s Mission Accomplished


WRITTEN BY RYAN GRAY | RYAN@STNONLINE.COM B


y the time this month is over, Ron Love will be sailing off into the sunset. Well, flying,


perhaps. Like any good former U.S. Air Force officer, he called his tenure as a state director, “Mission accomplished.” Te 20-year veteran of the Del-


He began his service as a pilot


aware Department of Education, and avid traveler, is retiring as the state pupil transportation director, but like most not without one regret. He said he’ll miss the people in the industry at all levels that he worked with and learned from for the past two decades. Of course, there are things he won’t miss, “Like trying to resolve a few custom- ers’ demands involving personal agendas, which are in conflict with laws, regulations and safe and efficient transportation prac- tices,” he said. But that comes with the territory, as any


state director would attest. And following Love’s 26 years in the military, he could tackle just about anything head on.


32 School Transportation News • JULY 2016


Ron Love retires this month after 20 years as Delaware’s state director.


and crew commander and served as a military observer for the United Nations in Israel, was the executive officer and instructor pilot at both Travis Air Force Base in California and at Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi and served as an operations staff office for the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon. Before leaving his Air Force ca-


reer in 1995 as vice commander of the 436th Airlift Wing at Do- ver Air Force Base, Love served


as the U.S. national military representative at NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Belgium. “My experiences gave me a broad education in leadership, operations, safety, training, technology and communica- tions,” he said. “At the same time, it gave me the opportunity to practice and learn in these areas in order to continuously improve operations.” Which he certainly did at the Dela- ware DOE. During his tenure, he sub-


standards to mirror the industry’s national specifications, developed and implemented a state-wide, web-based pupil transportation system for school transportation contracts and a transportation records system for school bus driver and aide training records. All the while, he was a liaison with the state legislature, other state department staff, school districts, charter schools, the afore- mentioned parents, and, last but not least, the media. Love told School Transportation News that conflict resolution, especially among parents, is one of the many vital facets of the position. “Get out of the office, visit all transpor- tation supervisors on their turf and observe or talk with school bus drivers and aides to get their perspectives,” he said. “Additionally, make a personal visit to all of your internal and external customers. Tis is easier in Delaware.” Certainly, when there’s only three counties and 19 school districts and 27 charter schools in a state that’s not quite 2,500 square miles. Love also said a good state director needs to be a good communicator and team build- er, as well as firm, fair and consistent. And, as is the norm in the student transportation world, plan and prepare for the unforeseen to happen, because it will. But even more so, do your homework. “You are the department’s expert and


you’ll have many new district transportation supervisors who will need training, professional development and mentoring,” he said. Love’s last name appropriately describes what a successful state director needs to succeed, Love finding inspiration in a quote from former Washington Post Publisher Katherine Graham: “To love what you do and feel it matters, how could anything be more fun?” “Tis is as true in the U.S. Air Force as it is in student transportation, and just about everything in life,” Love said. As of this writing, Love’s successor has yet to be named. ●


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