In a nutshell, the NCST simply lasts too long. State delegates and attendees have seen past NCSTs seemingly grind to a halt under the weight of minutia and debate that would have been more appropriately handled during the state delegation and NASDPTS Supplier Council comment period in the months leading up to the congress. For example, at the 2005 NCST, delegates from several states offered amendment after amendment on various sections and subsections being reviewed. Akin to the laborious flow or lack thereof seen in U.S. Congress sessions and the role of special interest groups, NCST was dragging out as a result of states and even local school districts trying to insert language beneficial to individual operations.

To a certain extent, debate is healthy but not to the point that people literally fall asleep during proceedings. What the NCST is attempting to do is focus on the major issues and bones of contention rather than waste time on items that could have and should have been addressed months, even years, ago. Pete Baxter, the NCST steering committee chair, says he would like to see the actual deliberations on the national school bus specifications and procedures last only about three days instead of the full five days at previous congresses. Next year's event is scheduled for scheduled for May 15-20.

Baxter, also Indiana state pupil transportation director, sat down with friend and colleague D. Leeds Pickering of the Wyoming Department of Education following the 2005 NCST to discuss how they could streamline the event and make it more useful to delegates. One of the first changes was to publish revised national specifications and procedures as they are made and post them online so delegates and interested parties could review them and instigate proposals for future revisions without having to wait another five years.

The thinking goes that the elephant can be eaten one bite at a time, so to speak, rather than dragging out the on site NCST deliberations at the University of Central Missouri Safety Center. Many of the specs can be agreed upon and issues debated prior, leading to a more efficient process at NCST and, ostensibly, less boredom to make delegates more engaged and energized on the most important topics at hand.

Baxter also said he hopes to soon have all specs and procedure documents posted on the web dating back to the first NCST held in 1939 to give a historical perspective on the evolution of the industry. He also said "out-of-the-box"leadership is being sought to spearhead future NCSTs