That 47-year-old advice seems to apply well to what we in school transportation are asked to do each day . Here is what I see : given that transportation is not always the highest priority in the pantheon of decisions that school administrators must make , transportation folks have been conditioned to often ‘ decide ’ against safety provisions because we “ know ” that someone up the chain will say “ no .” This article is about standing up for safety above and beyond other considerations . We have made our mantra “ safety and efficiency ,” but it can be argued that the most important word really is “ safety .” Our jobs are to keep children safe while , of course , being efficient and prudent ; not to do it in the most efficient way possible with safety as the secondary consideration . If we always speak of safety as “ Job # 1 ” then we need to keep that always up front in our choices and actions . It is important to also consider decisions we make as an industry that affect overall safety policy , systems , and equipment . For example , when our National Congress on School Transportation ( NCST ) deliberates over evolutions in school bus safety , what balances will be struck between following the science and best practices and the need to accommodate state and local budget constraints ? Those are always difficult conversations to have and decisions to make . Two years ago , NAPT launched “ Zip . Zero . Nada . None .” -- a safety campaign to focus our industry on reducing accidents of all kinds to zero . That challenge was met often with questions about cost and local budget constraints . To operate with a singular focus on safety would not be easy and , in fact , could put us at odds with our school leadership and even some of our transportation colleagues . In my years meeting with Transportation Supervisors , it was common to hear folks talking about such issues and ending their discussion with “ but I am not going to ask for it .” The reason : “ my business office won ’ t ever approve it .” With that in mind , let us look at a couple examples of how this plays out in practice and ask ourselves how we would handle the situations :
• As states and districts emerge from the throes of the pandemic , transportation officials will have especially challenging discussions regarding increased expenditures in transportation . As one example , how will we as an industry address the enhanced and increased cleaning regimens we adopted during the pandemic ? Will we endorse continuation of that rigor or get comfortable with reverting to the practices that we carried out pre-pandemic ?
• The driver shortage is the issue of our time in school transportation . In recruiting individuals in this new labor market , do we settle for ‘ any willing human ’ or do we increase our standards and our employment benefits packages to recruit the best possible individuals we can find ? That is a very real and serious choice that our industry is confronting . How we choose and how we act will shape our industry for years to come .
• We have seen drivers showing up for duty compromised by drugs or alcohol , especially on Mondays or on days following holidays . While that happens , you find yourself short-staffed or you may even be driving every day . In that context , you may not be able to carry out your role in relation to ‘ reasonable suspicion ’ observations . You believe it is necessary to bring on an additional staff person to interact with drivers for purposes of ensuring their roadworthiness . But will you pursue and advocate to meet that need ? Many have not . Many have just decided they must do what it takes to ‘ make things work .’
• Your school ’ s budget must reduce costs and your school administration is directing you to institute routes that include children having to cross the road to get to the bus . Your sense of safety has driven you to absolutely avoid crossing children as a part of your routes . Your policy and safety preference make you conclude that following their directive is fraught with danger . But if you push back at all , how forcefully do you push back ? I know many who have stepped back from that confrontation in order to be team players . What would you do ? How would you balance your knowledge of safe loading / unloading with the need to satisfy your school leadership with cost reductions ?
• Many new technologies are available to avoid or mitigate school bus accidents . These include stability controls , automatic braking , on-board cameras , event recorders , fire suppression systems and more . NAPT and our sister associations are grappling with how to address these technologies , especially in the face of federal interest in requiring them on our school buses . As the efficacy of these technologies is demonstrated , will we as an industry embrace them and advocate for their installation and use as part of the formula for keeping our children safe ? What role will cost play in our positions and advocacy ?
In both local and global contexts , we as an industry have some challenges before us . We have a long and proud history of doing everything we can to keep our children safe . The intent of this article is not to be critical but to remind us of the amazing good we have done for the children . It is also intended to encourage us to stand firm on safety in the face of the many fiscal , social and health-related challenges that lie ahead . In closing , I recently listened to a commencement speaker at Syracuse University ’ s Maxwell
School graduation offer a challenge to the new Masters ’ candidates to “ Don ’ t back down or avoid obstacles to doing the right thing . Focus on the facts and the science and pursue what you know is right .” That needs to remain our collective Job # 1 .
The Moral of the Story : When your superintendent asks what you need , remember they hired you to tell them what you know and what ’ s right . Tell them what you need for them to know .
Do not tell them anything less .
Policy Committee .
22 | SCHOOL-BUSRIDE . COM | AUGUST 2021