T
he Houston humidity is no joke. That much was clear as soon as I stepped off the plane in late September. What struck me next as I headed to the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District’s Westgreen Transportation Center is that Houston appears to be in a
constant state of new construction. From the highways to business parks to homes, the pandemic did little to slow the area’s growth, especially at Cy- Fair ISD. The district now serves 117,000 students, up nearly 3 percent over the past couple of years, and over 70 percent are transported via the yellow school bus. “Now that’s a place I would want to be in a zombie apocalypse,” my Uber
driver exclaimed, as we pulled up to the transportation facility. I agreed. The new purpose-built facility that opened in 2017 as a result of a multi-
million dollar bond measure towered above me, two stories high, as I made my way through the double doors and into the lobby. Westgreen is one of five transportation facilities at Cy-Fair, though construc-
tion has already begun on the sixth, which will eventually host transportation administration staff and a state-of-the-art training facility. I was met by Dr. Kayne Smith, Cy-Fair’s director of transportation and
the School Transportation News Director of the Year for 2021. Smith, the past-president of the Texas Association of Pupil Transportation (TAPT), is best described as a family man, not only to wife Emily and their boys Henry (7) and Eli (6), but also to his employees. Staff members go out for monthly dinners following a long day in the office.
Cy-Fair ISD At A Glance
Third-largest school district in Texas by student enrollment Square Miles: 187 Students Transported Daily (one way): 85,000 Total Number of School Buses: 1,250 Total Number of School Bus Routes: 723
Number of School Bus Drivers (Including Subs): 795, If fully staffed. (Cy-Fair is currently at 664 route drivers and full-time subs) Total Number of Employees if Fully Staffed: 1,218 (add part-time drivers/ attendants: 1,395 employees)
Kayne Smith embraces his father Robert, who he trained to be a school bus driver. They got togther at a recent Texas Association of Pupil Transportation conference with Kayne’s wife Emily and their sons Eli, far left, and Henry.
60 School Transportation News • NOVEMBER 2021
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