NORTH MANCHESTER - Most people who attended Tuesday night's Manchester Community School Board meeting have not been on a school bus in years.
That changed as board members and others boarded one of the school's new Safetyliner C-2 Freightliner buses for a presentation from Transportation Director Bill Reichhart and bus driver Imogene Knight.
The bus, which holds 66 students, is higher off the ground than older buses, has larger windows and two storage compartments underneath.
The bus also has many new safety features, such as a one-piece windshield, a noise suppressant switch, two video cameras hooked to a DVR system instead of a VCR, backup beepers, and automatic door and bigger emergency exits.
"This is a safe bus," Knight said. "It is more driver-friendly and more comfortable. It drives wonderfully - the suspension is wonderful; the kids don't bounce around anymore."
The bus also has a feature that allows the driver to check the exterior lights by him/herself. Once the driver activates the feature, the bus automatically turns on each bus light, including the stop arm, one at a time so the driver can walk around the bus and make sure they are all working properly.
Knight started driving the bus for her route Monday afternoon and said, "The kids love it."
The bus also features an exhaust system that cleans itself and alerts the driver when the filter needs to clean itself. With the feature, the bus will not spit out black exhaust when it starts. This feature complies with the 2007 emission control standards.
In other business, the board:
n Approved hiring Kathie Sites, education assistant, Manchester Elementary School; Barb Dawes, part-time fourth-grade reading/language arts teacher, MES; Daphne Steele, bus aide, MCS; Kira Hawkins, assistant director for the junior high musical and senior high school musical productions; Brittany Rager, volunteer assistant girls basketball coach, Manchester Junior-Senior High School; Jen Howard, sixth-grade girls basketball coach, Laketon Elementary School; and Sarah Purdy, C-team girls basketball coach, MJSHS.
n Accepted the resignations of Adrienne Burgess, educational assistant, MES; Brenda Self, junior high yearbook sponsor; and Daphne Steele, cook, MJSHS.
n Accepted a donation of $2,411 to Manchester Community Schools from the North Manchester Lions Club. The money will be used to purchase equipment to test vision and hearing.
n Approved an educational field trip request for Marilyn Mason to take theater students to Roosevelt University in Chicago to attend the Freshman Showcase Sept. 30.
