Meet young transportation professionals from across the country who are standing tall as industry leaders
B
orn and bred in North San Diego County’s San Marcos Unified School District, Mike Sawyer is now leading the way in technology adoption and school bus emissions reduction in the district.
Sawyer attended San Marcos schools from elementary through high school. While majoring in computer information systems, he took a job driving school buses for the district. It turned out to be a happy interruption of his original career plans in IT. “I’m a people person; I think that’s my gift,” the 38-year- old told STN last month. A school bus driver at the district since age 18, his skill with computers led to his being named the district’s transportation coordinator in 2006. Promotion to transportation director followed in 2012. School bus services used to be
provided to all 20,000 district students until about 10 years ago during the Great Recession, when Sawyer said he had to lay off most of his staff. Now SMUSD provides daily school transpor- tation services for 600 special education students, as well as 2,000 field trips annually, for its own students as well as several local districts, including San Diego Unified. Tese operations are carried out by a staff of eight as well as 81 drivers for 73 buses. San Marcos is a tight-knit community, and Sawyer grew up with many of his current staff and clients. He remains a down-to- earth guy, commenting, “I do everything I expect my employees to do.” He goes through the process to maintain his CDL license alongside his drivers, and hops on a bus route when needed during the busy field trip season. He stays up-to-date on bus maintenance and makes it a point to hang out in the employee lounge. He’s already spearheaded the addition of technology to his oper- ations to “do more with the same number of people.” Regardless of
40 School Transportation News • OCTOBER 2017
any age difference between him and his drivers, or perhaps because of it, he successfully implemented an electronic employee punch clock and emailed route schedules. But Sawyer said he is looking to get even more organized and efficient. “We’re a very technology-forward district,” he added, as he proud- ly displayed the customized Google Drive system that he created and put in place to keep track of buses, routes and drivers. Any mechanical issues or student incidents on the bus can be entered into the appropriate Google Spreadsheet by dispatchers as soon as they are notified by the driver via radio. Student information is stored on Google Drive so it is readily accessible for parents and drivers. He said his biggest goal is to add
real-time GPS and student tracking to his buses, which is often accompa- nied by apps parents can use to check the status and arrival times of their children’s bus. Consequently, Sawyer said he anticipates a reduction in
parent calls to the transportation office, one of which comes in every four minutes requesting such information.
Additionally, active GPS tracking will simpli- fy the district’s process of collecting data on student
ridership for medical reimbursement purposes, as well as assist with bus diagnosis and maintenance data. He is also researching adding Wi-Fi routers to his buses for on-
board tablets and cameras, as well as electronics required by those students who need them for educational diversions during long bus rides. Emissions reduction is another area in which Sawyer is mak- ing improvements. SMUSD’s buses are either CARB-compliant clean diesel or CNG, and two new buses are obtained per year, for replacement or growth. To date, Sawyer has actively sought and re- ceived almost $900,000 in grants for CNG tank replacements and
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