Wawasee Schools Transportation Coordinator Lays Out Policy Changes
March 9, 2022 at 3:31 a.m.
Wawasee Schools Transportation Coordinator Lays Out Policy Changes
By David [email protected]
Superintendent Dr. Steve Troyer introduced Best, who started back with Wawasee at the end of December. Troyer said Best has been “working feverishly to evaluate where things are at with transportation.” He said he and Best have had a number of conversations so he asked Best to give the Board an update on a number of things he’s been working with, as well as talk about “one particular safety issue that we’re going to be looking at for next year as we do some planning.”
In his first two months, Best said he’s been getting acclimated to the operations of the transportation office and looking at processes the department currently has and use.
“I knew coming in that my main focus would be student safety, and not that the practices in the past have been wrong or unsafe, just a holistic look at safety and what we could do to make our students safer,” Best said.
On his very first day, he said he ordered new buses for the next year, with assistance from Director of Finance and Legal Services James Flecker.
At the end of the school year, all the 15-passenger activity buses will come to the transportation office. Best said five of them currently sit at Wawasee High School.
“They all have to come to our office to get fuel. It just makes more sense to me to have them over there so they can be monitored, and we can keep them clean, we can keep them serviced. If there’s any problems that arises when anybody uses them, the mechanic can keep a better eye on them over there,” he said.
Best said they’ve created a process which the drivers will follow when conducting two yearly evacuation drills. He said those drills will be used in very low-traffic areas, each designated at a different part of a different school. One drill is for back evacuation and one is for front evacuation.
A drill where the bus driver is “incapacitated” also needs to be done, Best said. A student helper will connect with transportation over the radio so “we are prepared for anything that might happen.” He said there will be three helpers per bus and a parent form will go home for them to sign off on their student being a helper on the bus.
Best reported driver mailboxes have been installed in the driver room. This provides for the sharing of information other than through radio noise, he said.
“We have made changes to the driver’s walkthroughs. We have a lot of drivers who are taking their buses home after morning route or after evening route. I think maybe eight, nine,” he said. “And I instituted a system to which they would pull off before they go home and check their buses after they unload.”
Best said he believed drivers were just checking their buses when they got home and got off them.
“The problem is, we go to far reaches of our district and we have a child on our bus. Then you have to drive them back, contact somebody. It’s much easier to explain to a parent if you’re still in town or you’re still on school premises and you’ve checked your bus and gotten back with them,” he said.
Another change that was made was to the route maps. They are directional now, he said.
“This brings us to one of the biggest safety issues that I believe we face. And that is a one pick-up, one drop-off issue,” Best said. “Right now, we have 574 what I would call alternate directions for students.”
As an example, he said on Jan. 31 through March 15 one student needed to be picked up and dropped off at one address, except for Feb. 14-25 when the same student needed picked up and dropped off at another address.
“It creates havoc, actually,” Best said.
Sometimes the bus drivers can’t remember where a student is suppose to go. Or a bus driver may take the student to mom’s house and it should have been dad’s house, but nobody contacted the school so the transportation department has to figure out how to get the child home.
“It ends up being a logistical nightmare for our buses. We have to turn them around and drop students off or pick students up at alternate locations,” Best said.
“Through this, we also believe that each time one of our buses leaves our properties, that there should be a list of students on board. A pictured list where the driver knows exactly who they have on, and that way - Lord forbid anything should happen - we would have means to contact parents. It has to happen.”
Also, Best told the School Board that the transportation department created a change of address form that allows schools to work with the parents to change the address of students. The only person who would be able to change that address would be the same person who registered the student for the school year.
“This is something that actually was put in place in 2019, 2020, but I believe because of COVID, it was not enforced like it would have been had it been a regular school year,” Best said.
He therefore said he wasn’t creating anything new, but creating a situation where he believes students will be safer.
Best said if “Johnny” wants to go to “Billy’s” house for the weekend to spend the night, “we won’t allow that. Parents will have to take those students.”
Board Vice President Mike Wilson later asked Best if he was expecting “blowback” when he starts enforcing the policies.
Best said he was the transportation director at West Noble for five years. In his second year in, he implemented similar policies and he was called “some pretty crazy things.” He said it’s never hard to explain to someone that it’s for the safety of their child.
“Very seldom is it hard to get them to come around. You have to go with some tact and you have to be very responsible about the conversation, but most of the time, you talk somebody around to understanding that it’s something that has to happen for their child’s safety, for everyone’s safety,” Best said.
As far as bus personnel, Best said they need one bus driver at Milford School to relieve overcrowding on the buses. They’re full at Milford.
One bus driver, Robyn Tilson, is retiring at the end of the school year. She’s a special needs driver, Best said. That may leave another spot open for next year.
Superintendent Dr. Steve Troyer introduced Best, who started back with Wawasee at the end of December. Troyer said Best has been “working feverishly to evaluate where things are at with transportation.” He said he and Best have had a number of conversations so he asked Best to give the Board an update on a number of things he’s been working with, as well as talk about “one particular safety issue that we’re going to be looking at for next year as we do some planning.”
In his first two months, Best said he’s been getting acclimated to the operations of the transportation office and looking at processes the department currently has and use.
“I knew coming in that my main focus would be student safety, and not that the practices in the past have been wrong or unsafe, just a holistic look at safety and what we could do to make our students safer,” Best said.
On his very first day, he said he ordered new buses for the next year, with assistance from Director of Finance and Legal Services James Flecker.
At the end of the school year, all the 15-passenger activity buses will come to the transportation office. Best said five of them currently sit at Wawasee High School.
“They all have to come to our office to get fuel. It just makes more sense to me to have them over there so they can be monitored, and we can keep them clean, we can keep them serviced. If there’s any problems that arises when anybody uses them, the mechanic can keep a better eye on them over there,” he said.
Best said they’ve created a process which the drivers will follow when conducting two yearly evacuation drills. He said those drills will be used in very low-traffic areas, each designated at a different part of a different school. One drill is for back evacuation and one is for front evacuation.
A drill where the bus driver is “incapacitated” also needs to be done, Best said. A student helper will connect with transportation over the radio so “we are prepared for anything that might happen.” He said there will be three helpers per bus and a parent form will go home for them to sign off on their student being a helper on the bus.
Best reported driver mailboxes have been installed in the driver room. This provides for the sharing of information other than through radio noise, he said.
“We have made changes to the driver’s walkthroughs. We have a lot of drivers who are taking their buses home after morning route or after evening route. I think maybe eight, nine,” he said. “And I instituted a system to which they would pull off before they go home and check their buses after they unload.”
Best said he believed drivers were just checking their buses when they got home and got off them.
“The problem is, we go to far reaches of our district and we have a child on our bus. Then you have to drive them back, contact somebody. It’s much easier to explain to a parent if you’re still in town or you’re still on school premises and you’ve checked your bus and gotten back with them,” he said.
Another change that was made was to the route maps. They are directional now, he said.
“This brings us to one of the biggest safety issues that I believe we face. And that is a one pick-up, one drop-off issue,” Best said. “Right now, we have 574 what I would call alternate directions for students.”
As an example, he said on Jan. 31 through March 15 one student needed to be picked up and dropped off at one address, except for Feb. 14-25 when the same student needed picked up and dropped off at another address.
“It creates havoc, actually,” Best said.
Sometimes the bus drivers can’t remember where a student is suppose to go. Or a bus driver may take the student to mom’s house and it should have been dad’s house, but nobody contacted the school so the transportation department has to figure out how to get the child home.
“It ends up being a logistical nightmare for our buses. We have to turn them around and drop students off or pick students up at alternate locations,” Best said.
“Through this, we also believe that each time one of our buses leaves our properties, that there should be a list of students on board. A pictured list where the driver knows exactly who they have on, and that way - Lord forbid anything should happen - we would have means to contact parents. It has to happen.”
Also, Best told the School Board that the transportation department created a change of address form that allows schools to work with the parents to change the address of students. The only person who would be able to change that address would be the same person who registered the student for the school year.
“This is something that actually was put in place in 2019, 2020, but I believe because of COVID, it was not enforced like it would have been had it been a regular school year,” Best said.
He therefore said he wasn’t creating anything new, but creating a situation where he believes students will be safer.
Best said if “Johnny” wants to go to “Billy’s” house for the weekend to spend the night, “we won’t allow that. Parents will have to take those students.”
Board Vice President Mike Wilson later asked Best if he was expecting “blowback” when he starts enforcing the policies.
Best said he was the transportation director at West Noble for five years. In his second year in, he implemented similar policies and he was called “some pretty crazy things.” He said it’s never hard to explain to someone that it’s for the safety of their child.
“Very seldom is it hard to get them to come around. You have to go with some tact and you have to be very responsible about the conversation, but most of the time, you talk somebody around to understanding that it’s something that has to happen for their child’s safety, for everyone’s safety,” Best said.
As far as bus personnel, Best said they need one bus driver at Milford School to relieve overcrowding on the buses. They’re full at Milford.
One bus driver, Robyn Tilson, is retiring at the end of the school year. She’s a special needs driver, Best said. That may leave another spot open for next year.
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