The NAPT Summit boasts a packed schedule that will feature renowned anti-bullying activists and federal updates with the backdrop being the presentation of innovative tools to help school districts battle ever-shrinking budgets.
The conference begins in earnest on Oct. 23 with a keynote presentation by Mark Aesch, CEO of the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transit Authority (RGRTA) in upstate New York. Aesch will share with attendees the story of how the public transit system he oversees has run revenue surpluses for the past five years.
It’s also interesting to note RGRTA has been the target of NSTA, which has alleged that the transit authority has violated federal regulations aimed to protect private school bus contractors. The United Food & Commercial Workers District Union sued because, it claimed, RGRTA displaced 70 regular education routes provided by Laidlaw Education Services. But a U.S. district court ruled that RGRTA could continue.
“NSTA has made a strategic decision to continue to lean on transit agencies that are in violation of the tripper regulation,” Robin Leeds, then a consultant for NSTA, told School Transportation News in 2008.
Aesch’s presentation figures to offer student transporters plenty of tips on how to run their operations as a business, but it remains to be seen if the event will lead to some tough questions, similar to the appearance of James Jones at last year’s NAPT Summit in Portland, Ore., the presentation figures to Jones, the Florida father who was arrested and charged with trespassing on school property after barging onto a bus to confront students who he alleged were bullying his daughter, split the NAPT contingency between those who rallied behind his efforts to bring student harassment to national attention and the rest who vocalized their contempt for Jones being invited.
From that panel discussion, which also featured Kevin Jennings, the former director of the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, NAPT partnered with the U.S. Department of Education to release the first free-of-charge training for school bus drivers to respond to and report bullying. The program was unveiled earlier this year.
NAPT continues its training this year on the subject of bullying by inviting two activists to speak to members. Jodee Blanco is a bestselling author and creator of the bullying prevention curriculum who speaks the morning of Oct. 24. She is immediately followed by Jessica Brookshire, a recent college graduate and former Miss Alabama, who created K.A.R.M.A, or “Kids Against Ridicule Meanness and Aggression.” Both women have presented their curriculum to thousands of students nationwide.
National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman is the Oct. 25 keynote, as she will discuss the importance of outcome-oriented approaches to public accountability on the nation’s roads and will share her thoughts on how technology can improve human performance behind the wheel, such as electronic on-board recorders and vehicle stability systems, which NTSB has called for on all commercial vehicles, including school buses.
NAPT consultant Barry McCahill, a former public affairs representative with NHTSA, will follow Hersman’s presentation by moderating a panel on “Transportation Technology: What Does the Future Hold?”, which will shed light on the possible effect the next 25 years might have on the yellow bus.
In addition to NAPT’s Professional Development Series curriculum, a special round table will be held the afternoon of Oct. 22 that will foster forum discussion on a variety of topics and challenges facing student transporters. Other workshops include: “How to Survive an Internal Audit;” “Maintaining Integrity Under Tough Fiscal Restraints;” “Regionalization and Consolidation: What They Mean to YOU?;” “Distracted Driving: What Research Shows;” and “A Look at Student Management Through the Legal Lens.”
The NAPT Trade Show begins the afternoon of Oct. 25 and concludes the following day at noon. The show, which will feature approximately 130 vendor companies, also includes the annual NAPT elections. Don Carnahan, of Zonar Systems, is running to become the next NAPT president-elect to replace Alexandra Robinson, who at the conclusion of the conference will succeed Dr. Linda F. Bluth as president for the next two years.
Meanwhile, Barry Sudduth of Stafford County Public Schools in Fredericksburg, Va., is running for the directorship of NAPT Region 2 and Ken Mulder of Special School District in Olivette, Mo., is shooting for the title of Region 4 director. Two NAPT members are running against each other to become the new affiliate member on the NAPT Board. Voters will choose between Dave McDonald, the director of business development and technical sales for Rosco Vision Systems, and Marisa Weisinger, a technical specialist at Innovative Transportation Solutions in Houston.
Mike Roscoe, director of school business products for C.E. White, became the first affiliate member director in 2009, when NAPT bylaws were revised to give vendor representatives a voice on the board.
During the trade show, winners of the NAPT school bus safety poster contest will also be selected.
The 2012 NAPT Summit is scheduled for Oct. 19-25 in Memphis, Tenn.
