News BRIEFS State Director Changes Keep Coming
In true Pacific Northwest fashion, Allan J. Jones said he is eagerly anticipating more time spent enjoy- ing nature as he wraps up his student transportation career this month. “I am looking forward to working on my pho- tography and artwork, and spending time hiking, camping and kayaking,” said the former Washington state director at the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. “I just feel blessed to have had a career, where I got paid for what I loved to do.” Jones officially handed the state director baton to
without a windshield that I drove one winter in Alaska,” he recalled.
Allan Jones
Glenn Gorton in July, but spent the past two months assisting with the leadership transition at OSPI. He also co-chaired the recent STN EXPO and moderated a panel on real-life experi- ences with lap/shoulder belts on school buses. His last official day at OSPI is Sept. 29. Jones started in the industry as a school bus driver for Seattle
Public Schools in 1977 after seeing an advertisement. “I was unemployed at the time and figured it had to be easier to drive a school bus than the 1948 Dodge Power Wagon winch truck
Recalibrating School Bus Engines Wirelessly
Over-the-air (OTA) programming of engine control modules will be made available for IC Bus models powered by Navistar proprietary engines for aftermarket purchase by the end of the year for all models going back as far as 2007. OTA grants school bus drivers, technicians and fleet man- agers the ability to initiate engine programming to improve calibrations through a mobile interface. “Over-the-air programming is now a reality for school bus
operators,” said Trish Reed, vice president and general manager of IC Bus, adding that OTA also “sets the stage for a future of connected vehicle services in the school bus community.” The procedure is done wirelessly at a company facility. IC Bus has partnered with data and technology companies to ensure the system is secure, prompt and reliable. “This two-way connected vehicle technology allows eligible users to pull the data from the bus, analyze the data, and communicate back to the bus,” Reed said. “This capability can potentially enable future engine calibrations and other updates to be tailored to the requirements of a particular vehicle.” As for IC Bus school buses with Cummins engines, the
company announced that OTA will be made available the beginning of 2017.
20 School Transportation News • SEPTEMBER 2016
Te job continued until 1991, a year he also served as head trainer for the local Laidlaw contract. Ten he was hired by Olympia School District as an assistant transportation director to lead its training efforts. OSPI hired Jones in 1998 as the program supervi- sor for pupil transportation, and he was named state director of student transportation in 2002. During that time, he oversaw the implementation of a new funding system for student transportation that provides
“substantially more money for most districts,” and he received a distinguished service and leadership award in 2009 from the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth. He also served for three years as NASDPTS treasurer. But right at the top of his list of achievements, Jones added, is his
14 years of accident-free years driving school buses. “Everything else we do is secondary to getting kids safely to and from school every day,” he said. “School bus drivers are such fantastic people. It has been truly an honor to be able to help them do their jobs.”
NASDPTS Executive Board Changes Complete Following Leon Langley’s resignation as NAS-
DPTS president last month, the state director association announced it officially elevated Diana Hollander from president-elect into the vacated po- sition. Te state director for the Nevada Department of Education becomes the third female president in association history and second Nevada representative to fill the post. Michael LaRocco, the state director at the Indiana Department of
Education, becomes the new president-elect, replacing Hollander. Donnell Rosenthal, the state director for the Montana Department of Education, is now treasurer, with her previous West Region director seat now filled by Susan Miller of the Colorado Department of Education. Te changes were approved during a NASDPTS Western Region
Director’s meeting on July 23 and a NASDPTS Executive Board meeting on July 24, both of which were held during the STN EXPO in Reno, Nevada. Langley resigned from the Maryland State Department of Educa- tion, effective Aug. 1, to accept the assistant director of transportation position at the local Montgomery County Public Schools. “I personally know this was a hard decision for Leon and some- thing he thought about for a while,” Hollander said. “We wish Leon the very best in his new venture and know that we are not saying so long to our dear friend, just see you soon!”
CELEBRATING25YEARS
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