Director of Student Transportation Allan J. Jones announced his plans to step down from his position in the Washington state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, which will officially take effect Sept. 29.
Allan J. Jones
In the interim, Jones has been mentoring Glenn Gorton, who was named the new state director on July 1. Jones will also serve in a similar capacity for Gorton’s replacement as program supervisor, a position that Gorton is expected to be filled over the next several weeks.
Jones started in the industry in 1977 working as a school bus driver for Seattle Public Schools after his graduation from the University of Washington, driving for almost 15 years. In 1991, he joined the Olympia School District as the assistant director of transportation until he was hired by OSPI in 1998 as a program supervisor. He was named director of student transportation in 2002. Recently, he co-chaired the STN EXPO in Reno, Nevada, last month.
Before arriving at OSPI, Gorton worked at Eastmont School District in East Wenatchee, Washington, about 150 miles east of Seattle, from 1980 until 2009, mostly as a school bus mechanic and lead mechanic. He also served as president of SEIU Local 1948, the Public School Employees of Washington, from 1998 to 2002.
He later chaired the board charged with managing the state’s $80 billion retirement fund. Gorton, who has been with OSPI for the last seven years, said he has managed the funding reimbursements for school district transportation operations and depreciation on school bus purchases.
