From the Superintendent’s Desk
The state of our school busses and their special-breed drivers
by Bruce Brown
The big yellow school bus is an iconic reminder that schools are in session. A school bus is an exceptionally safe way of transporting students, and each new model year brings safety improvements. Stockbridge hasn’t had a bus-related student injury in as long as we can remember.
Software helps us plot the most efficient routes to transport students. During a normal year we put 210,000 miles on our bus fleet. A bus with elementary and high school runs averages 130 miles per day. Sleepy students make morning runs peaceful and are more energetic when riding home. Knowing there’s a video camera in the front, middle, and back of each school bus generally gives students pause before they become overly energetic.
Our fleet of 15 busses is an investment. The bill for a single 77 passenger school bus is upwards of $80,000. A bus tire costs $448. We take good care of our fleet, so our riders arrive at their destination safely, and also because it makes economic sense for busses to last 200,000 miles. Unfortunately, Michigan school busses commonly rust out before they wear out. As an example, after 186,000 miles of travel, we are planning to retire bus # 06-08 due to undercarriage rust.
About 67% of our students ride a bus to school. Older students often only ride the bus to school in the morning due to after-school activities. Once teenagers receive their driver’s licenses, they are less likely to ride a bus unless to an athletic contest.
Of our 138 school employees, 15 are bus drivers, and they comprise a unique group. They have the lives of a busload of students in their care, day after day, under all sorts of weather and traffic conditions. If you want to know details about roads or addresses, just ask a bus driver. Besides a Commercial Driver’s License and driving skill, the job requires the patience of a saint, a soft spot in your heart for young people, and eyes in the back of your head.
Bus drivers like to get cookies from their students and know when to check their mirrors for the wandering family dog. They also share close breathing space with lots of others. So far, thanks to parents minding sick children, as well as masks, sanitizer, and spacing, we have not had a bus driver fall ill to COVID-19. Other districts have been less fortunate, and the shortage of staff, including bus drivers, has caused school closures around the state.
