Simmons Relinquishes NASDPTS Presidency, Stiers Takes Over

June 5, 2024

The audience at the 2023 NASDPTS Annual Meeting listens during a session on Nov. 5 in Arlington, Va.

Mike Simmons officially announced his retirement from the Arkansas Department of Education and he was stepping down from serving as president of the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation. He has been replaced by Mike Stiers, who had been president-elect.

M SBF11nasd simmons1editcrop — **Mike Simmons**

Simmons served two terms as NASDPTS president, the first time in 2011 and 2012. He left Arkansas DOE at the end of 2016 and joined the state’s Game and Fish Commission as the transportation manager. He rejoined the DOE as state director of transportation in 2019.

NASDPTS members voted for Simmons to again serve as president following when president-elect Pat Schofill retired from the Georgia DOE in 2022. Simmons leaves NASDPTS with four months remaining in his term.

Stiers, the director of transportation for the Illinois State Board of Education, was voted president-elect when Simmons took office again. He now ascends to the president earlier than expected. The NASDPTS board unanimously voted Tyler Bryan of the Delaware DOE to fill the president-elect position, according to association bylaws.

NASDPTS also seeks a new Eastern Region representative on the board to replace Bryan. Stiers said on Tuesday that the region members will meet in the coming days to vote on his replacement.

Stiers also said past-president Patrick McManamon of the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles will continue to serve in that role with Simmons retiring.

Meanwhile, Simmons had been preparing for his retirement since at least last November, when Janet Clarke accompanied him to the NASDPTS Annual Meeting in Arlington, Virginia. Clarke is now listed on the NASDPTS website as state director for Arkansas. She is a former high school teacher and bus driver trainer who has worked as a transportation manager at the DOE since 2019.