The Oklahoma Department of Education named Trent Gibson in June as the successor to Randy McLerran as the state’s director of student transportation.
Gibson’s first day on the job was June 28. McLerran retired from the DOE in December after 31 years at the agency. McLerran was the inaugural Peter J. Grandolfo Award winner at the 2007 STN EXPO and was named the National School Transportation Administrator of the Year in 2001. McLerran received an award in 2009 from Sure-Lok at the NAPT Summit for training based upon his work in transporting students with special needs.
Similar to McLerran, the majority of Gibson’s background is in education, as he was a teacher and is certified as a principal in Oklahoma. He is also a former assistant transportation director at Shawnee Public Schools.
Gibson also owned his own consulting company that taught ropes courses, outdoor personal development and team building activities. Ropes courses are referred to as examples of “experiential education” that can benefit professionals in all walks of life, including student transporters as they seek balance between running safe, quality operations while also providing fair and consistent direction and support of employees.
He said he plans to attend his first NASDTPS annual conference this fall in Cincinnati.
