A few thoughts while getting ready for a flight to Grand Rapids, Mich., and the NASDPTS Annual Conference and NAPT Summit:
I had a phone conversation this afternoon with Hillary Trenda, a reporter for The Charlotte Observer working on an article for Saturday’s paper on the death Thursday morning of Makinzy Jordan Smith. Smith, 17, was struck and killed by a motorist after unloading from his stopped school bus.
The case of an Arkansas man who was arrested on Thursday for hijacking a school bus by knifepoint brings back eerie memories of the murder in January of Alabama school bus driver Chuck Poland. In partnership with TSA and the National School Transportation Association, First Student is rolling out training for bus drivers on how to keep unauthorized persons off the bus.
The Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne, Ind., reports that 15 school districts and the Indiana Attorney General have filed suit against the federal goverrnment alleging that the IRS is improperly imposing Obamacare employer mandate on state and local governments.In July, the National School Boards Association applauded the federal government’s delay in implementing IRS rules for the Affordable Care Act until January 2015, based upon the “complexity of the requirements and the need for more time to implement them effectively.”
Seon has already recognized National Bullying Prevention Month by starting its “NO BULLIES ON MY BUS” campaign. Next week at the NAPT Summit in Grand Rapids, Mich., the video surveillance provider will hand out anti-bullying buttons and more to trade show attendees. The company blogs that it also recently joined “The Bully Project” inspired by the feature film “Bully” and continues to support “Pink Shirt Day” in Canada to support anti-bullying initiatives.
Looking for that perfect gift for your favorite young school bus fan, fellow bus drivers or simply yourself? A book release on Oct. 28 may be for you. “Beep Beep Goes the Bus Driver” (Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.) by children’s author and illustrator Vincent Scala, who has worked for Disney and Nicklelodeon, is a 32-page, “hardcover adventure to the forest, the zoo, mountains and places you’ve only seen in your dreams.” Needless to say, it’s not your ordinary bus.
