Lyle Campbell
Director of Operations Amanda-Clearcreek Local School District, Ohio
Lyle Campbell shared his unexpected path to student transportation began after a severe injury in the line of duty that ended his 10-year career as a deputy sher-
iff in 2015. He began running his own diesel repair business but said he still felt something was missing. His sense of purpose returned after becoming a school bus mechanic at Fairfield Union Schools in 2022. “During that year, I realized I had more to offer,both to myself and to a community, and I set my sights on becoming a transportation coordinator,” said Campbell. He achieved this goal at Amanda-Clearcreek Schools in 2023 and this year rose to the role of director of opera- tions. Campbell had a unique nomination from a parent whose children ride the bus. James Sloan said he has seen huge achievements from Campbell in the short time he has been leading transportation, including the im- plementation of a district-wide routing software (which meant personally routing over 1,000 students over winter break), revamping the maintenance program to save costs and reduce breakdowns, and securing grants to upgrade aging cameras and add GPS-enabled tablets. Sloan said he believes Campbell’s greatest achievement from the per- spective as a parent is how he has prioritized transparency and accessibility, which has built strong relationships with students, families and transportation staff. Campbell confirmed that his focus is always safety, and
that his continued efforts to implement technology are based on his “goal is to make our transportation program a model of safety, efficiency and student/family service, one that not only meets the needs of today but is prepared for the challenges of tomorrow, like fleet improvements, driver
recruitment and evolving student needs,” he said. Campbell shared that his favorite part of the job is
“without a doubt” the people. “My team, the students, the families and the broader school community,” he said. “Transportation is a people-centered business, and every day I get to work with dedicated individuals who care deeply about what they do. Seeing the direct impact of our work on students’ success is incredibly rewarding. Having spent the majority of my adult life serving people, it’s truly my passion.” Campbell noted that no two days ever look the same as di-
rector, and that he loves problem-solving, providing support for his team, and keeping efficiency and safety as the focus of his work. Outside of work, Campbell said he enjoys spending time
with his two boys, Karter and Bryce, operating his boat, and being an assistant high school varsity baseball coach in his district. “My best advice is to stay passionate and stay curious,”
concluded Campbell. “Pupil transportation is constantly evolving, and the best leaders are those who never stop learning. Always remember that what we do goes far beyond moving buses. We’re transporting the future every single day. My motto is, ‘Today, I get to lead with a purpose, serve people, solve problems and bring energy.’”
sor and in 2024, the site supervisor position opened up. Her advance- ments didn’t stop there. In August, she took on her current role as the general manager of Durham School Services servicing the Schenectady City School District in New York. In his nomination of Tenace, Re-
gional Manager Britt Liotta praised her work as exemplary saying that within a
year of Tenace overseeing this loca- tion, “the [district] customer went from possible cancellation of service to now being the customer preferred vendor of services [and] has increased driver head count by 40 percent over past three months through intense recruit- ing and changing the morale to be an employer of choice in the area.” Tenace explained that she encour-
ages retainment and morale through employee engagement and taking time to build relationships with her staff, adding that her employees are her favorite part of the job. When speaking about her pas-
sion for this industry, Tenace said her mom was a school bus driver. “From the time I was in kindergarten on, she always made daily activities Continued on pg. 52 ➥
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