equipped buses.
“I would rather spend money on purchasing new buses with alternative fuels than use the $8,000 to $10,000 to go back and retrofit a 16- or 17-year-old bus.” At DPS, she said, sustainability and going green is a priority. A similar conversation has begun on potential alt-fuel
opportunities for the yellow buses and white fleet vehicles. Electric, CNG and propane options are all on the table, with mileage per gallon given priority in light of the city routes run by the Success Express. Te Volkswagen Mitigation Trust Fund is also a resource for potential electric adoption, Portee said. Every program she oversees provides the stepping stones that students need for support on their way to the tops of their own mountains. “We’re just helping by making sure that they can get to school, and really supporting that process,” she commented.
DRIVING CHANGE DPS has school bus driver shortages like other districts,
but Portee discovered another opportunity to get creative. A program rolled out last year utilizes more Type A school buses so applicants who are not yet comfortable driving a big bus are not discouraged from applying. “Although the capacity of those buses is smaller, we can definitely attract and hire non- CDL drivers who we can eventually, hopefully, groom,” she
explained. Te program has also led more monitors serving on the smaller buses to express interest in driving. In all her efforts for students, Portee does not neglect to champion her team. Last year, she “advocated really heavily” for pay raises across the transportation department, and every employee benefited. Putting into practice Gervais’ advice on being a catalyst in multiple capacities, Portee has also lent her expertise to many committees and associations at both the state and local levels. She served as president and trustee for the Colorado State Pupil Transportation Association, organized the 2015 Colorado Department of Education Summer Workshop and presented at various conferences, including the STN EXPO Reno. She has worked with the Council of the Great City Schools to review other district transportation departments and identify how they can improve school bus service and increase student access to quality schools. She has served on a 25-person committee that evaluates Denver’s city transit system, representing DPS and the high school students that utilize discounted passes. She influenced a deeper discount for students, who now pay only 30 percent of the general rate. Being a part of projects like the 2017 Go Bond, Mobility &
Transportation committee and the city Multimodal Advisory Committee, allows Portee help direct projects to add bike lanes,
CONGRATULATIONS!
Congratulations, Nicole Portee, for being awarded the 2018 STN Transportation Director of the Year Award!
From Your Friends at Colorado/West Equipment, Inc.
7920 East 88th Ave. Henderson, CO 80640 (303) 288-1300 |
www.cowest.net
42 School Transportation News • NOVEMBER 2018
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