The theme of the Texas Association for Pupil Transportation’s 40th Annual Conference and Trade Show this summer in Lubbock was T.R.U.S.T — short for Traditions, Reliability, Understanding, Safety, Teamwork. The event also featured a heavy dose of technology that is affecting school bus operations.
TAPT Past-President Samuel Davila, the director of transportation at Conroe ISD, said TAPT attracted 380 full-conference attendees and a total of 795 class attendees over the three-day conference in June, which featured 27 training workshops. Additionally, he said the one-day trade show brought in 600 attendees. This, added Davila, “allowed our members to maximize their opportunities to attend as many sessions as possible.”
Marisa Weisinger, director of transportation at Humble ISD near Houston, said TAPT focused on both today’s technology and what the industry has to look forward to. Mike Martin, executive director of NAPT, started the conference with a keynote on technology by making the cartoon analogy on the evolution from the Flintstones to the Jetsons by creators Hannah-Barbera.
“Some of the things they did on the Jetsons seemed so impossible then, and many are in use today!” said Weisinger, who presented on current trends in special needs transportation. “(Martin) also talked about branding and how we are all so selfless in giving of ourselves, but that sometimes we might need to be a little selfish and let people know just what a good job we are doing. But the most memorable point for me was when he told us all to ask good questions … ask a good question every day. That really hit home with me, and I thought of that several times today while visiting with my staff.”
Later, 30-year-old Josh Rice, the director of transportation at New Caney ISD, presented a workshop with his associates on current technology being used for dispatching and student management and how purchasing iPads for key staff has enhanced the district’s operations. For example, Weisinger said Rice discussed how New Caney uses DropBox for sending surveillance video to principals and various programs for driver evaluations.
TAPT also honored the the winners of the state School Bus Safety Roadeo and Special Needs Safety Competition, the School Bus Speech Contest and the School Bus Safety Poster Contest Winners. Michael Castaneda of North East ISD won the conventional school bus division, while Roberto Vela of La Joya ISD won the transit competition and the team of driver Sergio Rodriguez and attendant Ninfa Oyervidez from Rio Grande ISD won the special needs contest.
“Our Annual State School Bus Road-e-o competition is also held in conjunction with our Conference and Trade Show,” said Davila. “The competition was well attended with over 95 competitors in the areas of conventional and transit buses, as well as special education transportation.”
The trade show displayed products and services from 100 vendors, and TAPT awarded a total of 15 scholarships and employee recognitions.
Winning the state school bus speech contest and the $1,000 grand prize was Sarah Flores of Temple ISD. She was also invited to present her speech at the NAPT Summit in Grand Rapids, Mich., this fall. Meanwhile, Orien Garcia of Brownsville ISD was the overall winner of the Texas School Bus Safety Poster Contest.
TAPT also posthumously inducted Mike McClung into the association’s Hall of Fame. He passed away in March. A retired director of transportation at Northside ISD in San Antonio, McClung helped developed 1986 legislation requiring a crossing gate on the front of all Texas school buses. The purpose was to prevent children from crossing in front of the bus in the zone where the driver cannot see them. States must individually pass the crossing-gate requirement as the equipment has yet to be added to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for school buses.
