When Bart Marksohn was involved in the day-to-day operations of New York school bus contractor WE Transport, he and his sister Helena attended the viewing of one of their father’s longtime drivers who had died.

After arriving at the mortuary, the woman’s daughter approached Bart and Helena. She expressed gratitude they had taken the time to pay their respects and told them how important the Marksohn family was to her.

She shared that her father was abusive, and her mother took her young children and fled their home. Suddenly on her own, without a car and mouths to feed, she saw a job posting for a school bus driver. A particular draw was that the woman read she could drive the school bus home every night after her route.

The woman, her daughter continued, intended to drive a school bus for a month until she got back on her feet. She continued to drive for WE Transport co-founders Walter and Edith Marksohn for the next 35 years.

“My father always looked out for her and her family,” Bart recalled. “I didn’t even know this, but these are stories that I heard at my dad’s funeral, and my mom’s funeral. This one just really had a big effect on me because that’s who my parents were.”

Bart Marksohn said the best lesson Walter and Edith — everyone called her Edie — taught him was the importance of compassion. It is the legacy of the company founded in 1959 to drive blind students to school on Long Island.

“There were no IEPs,” he noted.

WE Transport was sold July 2021 to Beacon Mobility and continues to operate it as a subsidiary.

Bart is the last Marksohn remaining at WE Transport, that is until the end of business Tuesday, when he retires from the company that has been his home since he was a boy, when he started helping with school bus maintenance. The Marksohn children learned the business from Walter each evening at the dinner table.

“It wasn’t about making money, it was really about life. It was really about people,” he continued. “And it was about the responsibility toward not just the people that you transport but the responsibility toward your family, meaning your employees, too.”

Bart Marksohn and his siblings also turned Walter’s compassion into a successful business, so much so that when Walter returned to work in the mid-1980s, he told his children they made more of a profit in two years than he ever had.

It took the first year of barely breaking even. But the following year, WE Transport turned “a nice six-figure profit,” Bart added.

“When we went into doing this, we survived the year, which was rather tough. I remember  we really didn’t know what we were doing. It’s one thing to fix brakes, it’s another to talk to school districts and be awarded contracts and win bids,” he continued. “My dad came back in … and he looked around and he said, ‘You guys did in two, three years, what it took me a lifetime to grow.’ It was his way of saying, I’m very proud of my boys and, really from then on, because now he didn’t know what was going on, we just took over and he had to learn from us at that point.”

WE Transport was truly a family affair, with Bart first serving as president until the sale to Beacon Mobility and then was voted chairman by his family. Jerry served as the chief information officer and Helena as the corporate secretary. Steve left the day-to-day business in 1998 but remained an owner. Carmen Tomeo, the son of Charlie Tomeo, who brought Walter and Edie on as a subcontractor nearly 70 years ago, was the CEO until retiring at the end of last year.

The Marksohns also got involved in school bus manufacturing. Bart became a 50-50 owner of what would become Type A school bus body producer Trans Tech with John Corr of The Trans Group. Several of the younger Marksohn generation went on to work for the company. One of them created the logo.

“His input in building one of the best school vans was immeasurable,” Corr commented.

The Marksohn family sold its remaining stock in Trans Tech in 2022.

For all his efforts, the National School Transportation Association inducted Bart Marksohn into its Hall of Fame last summer. The New York School Bus Contractors Association named him Contractor of the Year in 2018. Of all the awards he’s received, he said the two hold particular meaning.

“It’s cliche, maybe, but to be recognized by your own peers, and certainly the ones within the state who know you the best, was really rewarding. And then to go to Nashville (the site of NSTA’s annual convention in July) and be recognized [across] the United States, not just in a state you know, was kind of the acme for me, the peak,” he added.

“The New York School Bus Contractors Association (NYSBCA) would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to Bart Marksohn and Carmen Tomeo of WE Transport on their well-deserved retirements. Over the past 30 years, they have been dedicated, thoughtful leaders in our industry, each bringing valuable experience from large family-run businesses. Their unwavering commitment to ensuring the safest ride for students every day has left a lasting impact. Both Bart and Carmen were honored with NYSBCA’s highest distinction, the Contractor of the Year award, at our Annual Convention Awards dinner in 2018. On behalf of the NYSBCA’s executive team, board members, and colleagues in the school bus industry, we thank you for your contributions, leadership, and care for our profession. We wish you both all the best in the years ahead.”

~ Thomas W. Smith, NYSBCA Board President.

As for what’s next in retirement, Bart said he is cutting ties to the school bus industry.

“You’re either in or out, you know? And I’m out,” he explained. But there will still be a loose connection, as the Marksohn family own land in New York City that that it leases to school bus contractors, including 11 bus depots to Beacon Mobility.

“I can’t really get away from school buses because of the real estate, but it’s a different obligation,” he added.

Retirement won’t mean sailing around the world, but as a pilot he might fly around it. Emphasis on “might.” More realistically, he’ll make more trips to the Bahamas and his annual summer trek to Colorado.

“It’s beautiful out West to fly through mountain passes and valleys. It’s just spectacular, and some of it feels a little white knuckle,” he said. “And maybe I like that rush. I’ve always liked the rush of bid openings, to see if you won. So, I guess my flying through mountain valleys is my bid opening moments.”

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Economic development officials in Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay say those efforts are important to addressing Wisconsin’s long-standing labor shortage and preventing future population declines.

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CONCORD, N.C. — There are three ways a person can transition themselves into a top performer: Win the mental game, own the day, and adapt and thrive.

That was the message author and trainer Scott Welle provided to attendees with his keynote address on the penultimate day of STN EXPO East and its inaugural year hosted in North Carolina.

Win the Mental Game

Welle said the average person has 50,000 thoughts a day, 80 percent of which are negative. But starting with a negative belief translates to thoughts, behaviors and results.

He shared that his brother has always been extremely smart, and growing up the speaker developed a belief that he would never be as smart as his brother. Welle said he felt demotivated, which led him not applying himself to his schoolwork. That resulting in Welle being an average. Receiving C grades, he added, furthered his belief that he was not smart.

That was until one day in college, when he decided he was going to apply himself.

“I remember waking up one day [thinking], ‘You’re paying a lot of money to be average,’” he recalled. “… It got the spiral going back in the other direction.”

Welle eventually got a master’s degree in sports psychology.

He said without his realization, he would have never had the courage to start his own business, write books and be standing in front of STN EXPO attendees Thursday morning at the Embassy Suites Charlotte-Concord convention center. He asked attendees to think about the belief system their operation under and the story that they’re telling themselves.

Having better thoughts, gives better feelings, which leads to better results.

Out-performers are intentional, Welle commented. That not just with what they need to do every day, but how they want to show up to everything they do, every day.

“What one word/phrase describes how you want to show up on the field that represents the best version of you?” he asked attendees.

Todd Silverthorn, transportation supervisor with Kettering City Schools in Ohio, said he wants to come into any situation “full force” and be his authentic self. Being vulnerable in certain situations shows leadership, he said.

The audience shared several suggestions to be a strong leader: Make it fun, be solid, stay above the line, be positive, and stay present.

Welle said it’s important to show how you want to be perceived because that represents the best version of you. He added that defining what one actually does for a job or in life, in the very deepest meaning, rather than what they say they do provides connection on a greater level.

For example, school transportation employees don’t just drive or route school buses, they provide access to transportation. Remind yourself of your purpose, when days are longest and arduous, and when having unpleasant parent conversations, he advised.

Own The Day

The next piece of advice Welle provided was owning the day before the day owns you. He said the hardest part of the day is getting something started. He provided ways to own the day, such as being grateful, challenging oneself, focusing and organizing, self-care, and exercise.

He asked attendees to turn toward to their neighbor and share one thing that they’re grateful for. Many shared they’re grateful for family, career, health, and to be at STN EXPO. He said the human brain can’t have simultaneous competing thoughts, meaning one can’t be grateful and also negative, jealous or angry.

Welle said changing one’s mindset to think about what’s good doesn’t allow them to reflect on the bad, or what is lacking. One attendee shared she lost her two parents, a step-parent) and her two brothers within a seven-year span. That resulted in her being grateful for her life. She said she couldn’t let herself fall into depression but instead had to fight through the pain and keep going.

The attendee said when she says good morning, she means it, because it’s another day she wakes up alive.

“A lot of kids don’t hear good morning from their parents,” she said of the importance of sharing joy with students. “We have to remember who we are servicing.We have to be resilient.”

Welle also lost both of his parents in the before his 38th birthday. He added that there were days he couldn’t get out of bed. But he, too, had to focus on being grateful and carrying on his family legacy through the lessons his parents taught him.

The road construction in life is the barriers and distractions that are blocking you from focusing on the things that matter and that you can control, Welle added. To be in control, one needs to automate, delegate and eliminate.

“Outperformers think strategically on how to clear the path to make it simpler to have success,” he said.

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Adapt & Thrive

“Shift happens,” Welle said. “We have to be able to respond to it. How do we adapt and thrive, when, not if? Change happens, stress happens, uncertainty happens.”

He said the people who experience the most hardships, suffering and adversity become the most resilient. He said people all know they need to get back up, but they want to have to get knocked down first.

He asked attendees to recall a difficult time in their life when they couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. He said to use that experience as a reference point, as it taught resilience, strength and internal dialogue.

“If I got through that, I can get through this,” he said, adding that outperformers use their experiences to show what they’re capable of. “Don’t discount the tough stuff that you’ve been through in your life.”

However, Welle said, no one outperforms without the support of others. He recalled running a 100-mile ultramarathon. There was a point he wanted to quit, but his friends pushed him to keep going.

“As you think about adapting and thriving in your life, choose the people you surround yourself with wisely,” he said. “People that don’t just love and support you, but who will also call you out and tell you what you don’t want to hear but what you need to hear.”

He said it’s the small wins that stack up over time that lead to massive movements and massive outcomes. He said it’s not about getting to the top of the ladder, but just to next rung. What is the next milestone, benchmark, small win?

Becoming an out-performer happens one step at a time.

“The main thing is, [Welle] made me realize who I am as a person, that I don’t give myself credit, that I have a lot on my plate, but I do a good job with it,” Paul Johnson, transportation manager for Wicomico County Public Schools in Maryland told School Transportation News following the session. “It motivates me to go further.”

Johnson said he related to Welle. All through his life, he said he felt that he was the average person. He added that he believes he has other levels to achieve and wants to show his drivers, associations and specialists that they, too, can reach another level.

The post Becoming an Outperformer appeared first on School Transportation News.

On a swath of ex-farmland slated for future phases of the project in Mount Pleasant, Microsoft's preliminary work was paused in January — then restarted — and now paused again.

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A medical equipment manufacturer plans to build a new $50 million facility in Franklin to support its breast implant business.

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The development in Wauwatosa is in response to high demand for housing, but the issue also has locals divided on how best to meet it.

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Fewer than half of Wisconsin manufacturers believe the business climate is headed in the right direction, highlighting an underlying sense of uncertainty around the economy, according to a new report.

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UW Health said efforts to renegotiate its agreement with the insurance company have not been successful.

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The owner of a Madison plant store talks about what's offered in the store, how to avoid overwatering, and the plant boom that occurred during the cooped-up days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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VANCOUVER — GreenPower Motor Company Inc. (Nasdaq: GP) (TSXV: GPV) (“GreenPower” and the “Company”), a leading manufacturer and distributor of all-electric, purpose-built, zero-emission medium and heavy-duty vehicles serving the cargo and delivery market, shuttle and transit space and school bus sector, today reported its third quarter fiscal year 2025 results and provided an update on its manufacturing operations.

“GreenPower’s improved third-quarter performance, with $7.2 million in revenue — an increase of 35% over the previous quarter — underscores the demand for our purpose-built, all-electric vehicles. Importantly this growth also resulted in an improvement in our gross profit,” said Fraser Atkinson, CEO of GreenPower. “As we continue scaling our manufacturing operations, GreenPower is well-positioned to drive long-term growth and capitalize on the industry’s rapid shift toward zero-emission fleet solutions. At the end of the quarter we had available funding of more than $5 million consisting of cash, availability on loan facilities and ability to issue letters of credit to finance production of our growing order book.”

GreenPower spent the quarter continuning to increase its output from the West Virginia manufacturing facility. “As a result of the work we did during the quarter, we are now set to deliver one BEAST per week from the South Charleston facility, with the BEAST production increasing to two per week by April plus Nano BEAST production,” said Brendan Riley, GreenPower President. “To support this growth, we’ve strengthened our leadership team with the addition of James Redd as our new West Virginia production manager. Working alongside Vice President of Production Wendell White, James has been instrumental in laying the groundwork for a second shift at the plant, positioning GreenPower to meet rising demand and scale efficiently.”

On the West Coast, GreenPower finalized plans to expand its California manufacturing footprint in one facility located in the Inland Empire. “Consolidating our operations from three separate locations and five different facilities spread out through California to one larger facility will allow for more cost savings and increased efficiency,” Riley stated.

Third Quarter 2025 Highlights:

• Generated revenues of $7.2 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024, an increase of 35% over the previous quarter. Gross profit improved to 14.6% of revenue up from 8.6% for the previous quarter.
• Delivered 13 BEAST Type D all-electric school buses, one Nano BEAST Type A school bus, one EV Star Cargo Plus and 13 EV Star Passenger Vans.
• At the end of the quarter GreenPower had working capital of $12.8 million, an increase of $2.7 million over the previous quarter, and inventory of $28.2 million, consisting of $10.8 million of finished goods, $13.1 million of work-in-process and $4.3 million of parts and components.
• Deferred revenue at the end of the quarter increased to $10.8 million.
• Completed an underwritten offering of 3,000,000 common shares raising gross proceeds of $3 million.

For additional information on the results of operations for the period ended December 31, 2024 review the interim financial statements and related reports posted on GreenPower’s website as well as on www.sedar.com or filed on EDGAR.

Shareholder Call Information
Date: Tuesday February 18, 2025
Time: 6:30 a.m. PST / 9:30 a.m. EST
Participant dial-in: (US) 1-844-739-3982 (Canada); 1-866-605-3852; (International) 1-412-317-5718. Ask to be joined into the GreenPower Motor Company Inc. conference call.
Webcast Link: https://event.choruscall.com/mediaframe/webcast.html?webcastid=XkyzR1vx
Replay: (US) 1-877-344-7529; (Canada) 1-855-669-9658; (International) 1-412-317-0088
Replay access code: 5816828

About GreenPower Motor Company Inc.
GreenPower designs, builds and distributes a full suite of high-floor and low-floor all-electric medium and heavy-duty vehicles, including transit buses, school buses, shuttles, cargo van and a cab and chassis. GreenPower employs a clean-sheet design to manufacture all-electric vehicles that are purpose built to be battery powered with zero emissions while integrating global suppliers for key components. This OEM platform allows GreenPower to meet the specifications of various operators while providing standard parts for ease of maintenance and accessibility for warranty requirements. GreenPower was founded in Vancouver, Canada with primary operational facilities in southern California. Listed on the Toronto exchange since November 2015, GreenPower completed its U.S. IPO and NASDAQ listing in August 2020. For further information go to www.greenpowermotor.com.

The post GreenPower Provides Business Update and Reports Third Quarter Fiscal 2025 Results appeared first on School Transportation News.

While several industry insiders told School Transportation News last week that it was too early to tell the impact of new Trump administration tariffs on imports, Blue Bird representatives told investors to expect a 5-percent price increase on all non-electric school buses.

The company made the statement last week during its fiscal year 2025 first quarter financial results call, which reported the company’s second-best quarterly profit and margin, the eighth consecutive quarter of beating guidance, and $250 million of electric school buses in “firm order backlog.”

“Our position is that any potential government tariffs will be passed through to the end customer so there will be no net financial impact on Blue Bird,” said Phil Horlock, who is retiring as president and CEO this week but retaining his board of director seat.

John Wyskiel succeeds Horlock on Feb. 17.

Last week, President Donald Trump paused for 30 days a 25-percent tariff on imported goods from both Canada and Mexico, though a 10-percent tariff on Chinese imports went into effect. Essentially, think of tariffs as an added sales tax by the federal government, Blue Bird CFO Razvan Radulescu said during the Q&A portion of the call on Feb. 5.

Meanwhile, Horlock said Blue Bird is confident U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean School Bus Program funding will continue unfettered. He shared details from a Feb. 4 memo issued by Gregg Treml, the acting CFO of EPA, that stated a federal court injunction pausing Trump administration freezes on unspent federal program funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act “shall not be paused and disbursement of funds shall continue while ongoing litigation proceeds or until otherwise directed by a Court.”

Horlock said Blue Bird also has confirmed political support for the Clean School Bus Program with members of Congress.

He added the court order reversing the freeze should also protect nearly $80 million in Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grant Program funding from the U.S. Department of Energy that was appropriated under the Inflation Recovery Act. The funds are to be used to convert Blue Bird’s diesel motorhome manufacturing plant in Fort Valley, Georgia, into a 600,000 square-foot Type D electric school bus facility.

To address the initial pause in EPA funding, Horlock said Blue Bird reprioritized production to build fully-funded school buses earlier and pushed back build dates for bus orders to be paid for with federal money. He added the manufacturer is also prioritizing “significant new EV orders” paid for by state and local funding. Still, Blue Bird lowered the number of forecasted electric school bus deliveries to 1,000 units from the previous range of 1,000 to 1,300.

The company also noted higher internal combustion engine school bus prices compared to a year ago and at comparable levels with its competitors.

Blue Bird also said the quarter-one results beat the previous guidance and that it remained on track to meet the full-year guidance of Adjusted EBITDA at $200 million and a 14-percent margin.

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The post Blue Bird: Tariffs Would Increase Non-EV School Bus Prices by 5% appeared first on School Transportation News.

MACON, Ga.—Blue Bird Corporation (BLBD), the leader in electric and low-emission school buses, announced today its fiscal 2025 first quarter results.

“I am incredibly proud of our team’s achievements in delivering another outstanding result and near record profit in the first quarter,” said Phil Horlock, president and CEO of Blue Bird Corporation. “The Blue Bird team continued to exceed expectations, improving operations, driving new orders, and expanding our leadership in alternative-powered buses. Market demand remains very strong with nearly 4,400 units in our order backlog at the end of the first quarter. Unit sales were about the same as last year, with revenue down by $3.8M, driven by product mix, and we delivered an exceptional 14.6% Adj. EBITDA margin. With 94% of our first quarter unit sales mix comprised of internal combustion engine (ICE) buses, this result demonstrates the very strong earnings power of our base business.

“In our push to expand our leadership in alternative-powered school buses, we delivered over 130 electric-powered buses this quarter, ahead of the plan we communicated in November. We also saw strong growth in EV orders from both the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program and state/local level programs. As of today, we have approximately 1,000 EV buses either sold or in our firm order backlog, which supports our EV sales target for 2025.

“Based on our strong Q1 performance, we’ve reaffirmed our full-year financial guidance for Adjusted EBITDA at $200 million, with a 14% margin. This will be an all-time full-year record for Blue Bird, and we look forward to sustained profitable growth in the coming years.”

FY2025 Guidance and Long-Term Outlook Reaffirmed

“We are very pleased with the first quarter results, with the second highest ever Q1 Adj. EBITDA” said Razvan Radulescu, CFO of Blue Bird Corporation. “Our business is in a very strong position and we continue to deliver ahead of the plan we have been messaging. We are reaffirming our full-year 2025 guidance for Net Revenue to $1.4-1.5 Billion, Adj. EBITDA to $185-215 million and Adj. Free Cash Flow to $40-60 million. Additionally, we are confirming our long-term profit outlook towards an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 15%+ on ~$2 billion in revenues.”

Fiscal 2025 First Quarter Results

Net Sales

Net sales were $313.9 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2025, a decrease of $3.8 million, or 1.2%, from the first quarter of last year. Bus sales decreased $5.3 million, reflecting a 1.9% decrease in average sales price per unit, primarily due to customer and product mix changes (lower EV volumes). In the first quarter of fiscal 2025, 2,130 units were booked compared with 2,129 units booked for the same period in fiscal 2024. Additionally, Parts sales increased $1.5 million, or 6.2%, for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 compared with the first quarter of fiscal 2024. This increase is primarily attributed to price increases, driven by ongoing inflationary pressures, as well as higher fulfillment volumes and slight variations due to product and channel mix.

Gross Profit

First quarter gross profit of $60.3 million represented a decrease of $3.2 million from the first quarter of last year. The decrease was primarily driven by the $3.8 million decrease in net sales, discussed above, and partially offset by a corresponding decrease of $0.5 million in cost of goods sold.

Net Income

Net income was $28.7 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2025, which was a $2.6 million increase from the first quarter of last year. The increase was primarily driven by $2.6 million in emission credits that the Company sold in the first quarter of fiscal 2025, recorded in other income (expense), net, with no similar income in the first quarter of fiscal 2024.

Adjusted Net Income

Adjusted net income was $30.6 million, largely consistent with the $29.7 million from the same period last year.

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA was $45.8 million, which was a decrease of $1.9 million compared with the first quarter of fiscal 2024. This decrease results primarily from the lower gross profit, partially offset by improvements in other income(expense), net, as described above..

Conference Call Details

Blue Bird will discuss its first quarter 2025 results in a conference call at 4:30 PM ET today. Participants may listen to the audio portion of the conference call either through a live audio webcast on the Company’s website or by telephone. The slide presentation and webcast can be accessed via the Investor Relations portion of Blue Bird’s website at www.blue-bird.com.

Webcast participants should log on and register at least 15 minutes prior to the start time on the Investor Relations homepage of Blue Bird’s website at http://investors.blue-bird.com. Click the link in the events box on the Investor Relations landing page.
Participants desiring audio only should dial 404-975-4839 or 833-470-1428. The access code is 393430.

A replay of the webcast will be available approximately two hours after the call concludes via the same link on Blue Bird’s website.

About Blue Bird Corporation

Blue Bird is recognized as a technology leader and innovator of school buses since its founding in 1927. Our dedicated team members design, engineer and manufacture school buses with a singular focus on safety, reliability, and durability. School buses carry the most precious cargo in the world – 25 million children twice a day – making them the most trusted mode of student transportation. The company is the proven leader in low- and zero-emission school buses with more than 20,000 propane, natural gas, and electric powered buses in operation today. Blue Bird is transforming the student transportation industry through cleaner energy solutions. For more information on Blue Bird’s complete product and service portfolio, visit www.blue-bird.com.

The post Blue Bird Reports Fiscal 2025 First Quarter Results; Beats First Quarter Guidance; Reaffirms 2025 Guidance and Long-Term Outlook appeared first on School Transportation News.

President Donald Trump reached an agreement with Canada and Mexico to delay 25-percent import tariffs with each country that were set to go into effect Tuesday.

Trump signed the  executive order Saturday, and Canada responded with its own threat of a 25-percent tariff on $30 billion worth of U.S. goods, also set for Tuesday. The Ministries of Finance and Foreign Affairs said Canada also intended to impose a tariff on $125 billion in additional U.S. goods, which includes electric vehicles, trucks and buses.

The U.S. agreements with Canada and Mexico to postpone the tariffs by at least 30-day days hinged on more investment at both the northern and southern border to curb immigration and the flow of drugs, especially fentanyl.

A 10-percent tariff with China moved forward and went into effect Tuesday.

The American Bus Association (ABA), United Motorcoach Association (UMA), Motor Coach Canada (MCC), and Ontario Motor Coach Association (OMCA) said they are closely monitoring the trade disputes between the U.S. and Canada and warned of the impact to manufacturers, suppliers and consumers.

​ABA, UMA, MCC and OMCA issued a joint update Sunday that said the tariffs could significantly impact the motorcoach industry, which like the school bus industry relies on a global supply chain involving components from both countries. The associations added they are coordinating advocacy and lobbying efforts to mitigate the impact of the tariffs and are encouraging members to share their concerns.

Last month, S&P Global said the blanket tariffs would have a “massive impact” on nearly all automative manufacturers worldwide, with reciprocated tariffs by Canada and Mexico adding “another degree of complexity.” While commenting specifically on passenger vehicles, S&P Global noted that Canadian or Mexican-sourced propulsion systems and components in U.S. manufactured vehicles “would see a tariff as well.”

It added that the tariffs could add $6,250 to the cost of $25,000 vehicle.

School Transportation News reached out to multiple sources Monday to ask about the potential impact of tariffs  school bus production and sales. One source responded that it was premature to discuss the tariffs as they were being negotiated in real time. Another indicated that the tariffs are subject to continuing negotiations and could change, as “school bus manufacturing isn an American success story,” though concern remains especially about individual components.

Meanwhile, Micro Bird, the joint Type A venture between Blue Bird of Fort Valley, Georgia, and Girardin Minibus of Drummondville, Quebec, is the only school bus currently manufactured in Canada for sale in the U.S.

Electric school bus manufacturer GreenPower Motor Company has headquarters in Vancouver, British Columbia, but the company manufactures out of Porterville, California, and South Charleston, West Virginia. RIDE, the school bus arm of Chinese company BYD, manufactures its electric school buses in Lancaster, California.

An auction process begins this month for Lion Electric Company, which obtained bankruptcy protection in December.

Additionally, many school bus suppliers of technology solutions and equipment are based in Canada or have manufacturing there. Many school bus components are also imported from China.

​This is a developing story.

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Related: NAFTA Replacement is Expected to Ease Tariff Concerns
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The post U.S. Delays Tariffs with Canada, Mexico as Bus Associations Warn of Fallout appeared first on School Transportation News.

Following Britton Smith’s resignation in September, Blue Bird tapped John Wyskiel as his replacement, effective Feb. 17.

Smith was slated to take over CEO and president last Sept. 29, as current CEO Phil Horlock was set to retire. However, Smith announced his resignation just weeks prior. Horlock, who served as president and CEO from 2011 to 2021 and then again in May 2023 remained as CEO, as the company sought a replacement.

Enter Wyskiel, an automotive industry veteran with over “35 years of experience in manufacturing leadership, operational excellence and global sales and supply chain management,” stated a Blue Bird press release on Wednesday.

From 2002 to 2004, Wyskiel served as the general manager of Blue Bird Coach in Canada, part of Blue Bird Corporation. According to a press release it was one of the largest school bus body and assembly manufacturers of Type C and Type A school buses located in Brantford, Ontario. Blue Bird Coach Canada was not a part of Blue Bird’s joint venture with Girardin to build Micro Bird models in Quebec.

Wyskiel then embarked on a 20-year career at Magna International, most recently serving as president of Magna Seating. There, he led a $6 billion business with 33,000 employees across more than 60 manufacturing facilities in 15 counties. He also served as vice president of Magna’s Body & Structures business in Canada and the U.S.

“His extensive background includes various senior roles in manufacturing, operations, engineering, product management and sales at automotive suppliers Magna, Dana Corporation and Borg Warner,” the Blue Bird press release adds.

“I’m thrilled to return to Blue Bird, an iconic American company,” Wyskiel stated. “I’m passionate about building scalable operations and leading high-performance teams to drive continuous improvement. I look forward to working with the entire Blue Bird team and dealer network to execute our strategic initiatives and to deliver sustained profitable growth.”

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Related: Blue Bird Announces Resignation of President; Phil Horlock to Remain as President and CEO
Related: OEM Blue Bird Featured on CBS for Safety Technology, Three-Point Seatbelts
Related: (STN Podcast E215) Next-Level Safety: Exclusive Interview – Seatbelts Standard on Blue Bird Buses
Related: Delawares Bryan Named President-Elect of NASDPTS

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Wyskiel will also join the Blue Bird board of directors on Feb. 17. Horlock will remain on the board to ensure a smooth transition.

“John’s deep and varied expertise in operational excellence and manufacturing leadership makes him an ideal fit for this role at this time,” said Doug Grimm, chairman of Blue Bird Corporation. “His proven track record will be invaluable as we expand our footprint and improve our operational processes to support our customers.”

The post Blue Bird Announces New President, CEO appeared first on School Transportation News.

Analysis on the series of wildfires that rocked the Los Angeles area, school bus manufacturing data, and OEM developments.

Scott Welle, author, consultant and upcoming STN EXPO Charlotte keynote speaker, discusses his background and passion for training others to “outperform the norm” in their personal lives as well as the line of work they are in.

Read more about business.

This episode is brought to you by Transfinder.

 

 

Stream, subscribe and download the School Transportation Nation podcast on Apple Podcasts, Deezer, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and YouTube.

The post (STN Podcast E242) On the Court, Field, Ice, or Bus: Sports Principles for Outperforming the Norm appeared first on School Transportation News.

It was a packed year for School Transportation News magazine. Tony and Ryan review the top article in each monthly issue and what student transporters have to say about their operations and challenges.

Read more at stnonline.com/digital-editions.

This episode is brought to you by Transfinder.

 

 

Message from Thomas Built Buses.

 

 

Message from Zonar.

 

Stream, subscribe and download the School Transportation Nation podcast on Apple Podcasts, Deezer, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and YouTube.

The post (STN Podcast E240) 2024 in Review: Top STN Magazine Articles appeared first on School Transportation News.

The Corporate Transparency Act is back in play for small businesses including those in the student transportation industry. 

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday granted a stay of a 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in December that issued a temporary injunction on enforcing the law. In the hope of preventing criminals from hiding illegal acts through corporate anonymity, Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act in 2021, sandwiched into a larger 1,482-page defense bill. The law initially took effect on Jan. 1, 2024, requiring companies to disclose stakeholder information to the Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, by Jan. 1, 2025.

In an order that called the law outright Orwellian, however, a federal judge in Texas on Dec. 3 granted an injunction blocking the Corporate Transparency Act from being enforced — a decision that U.S. attorneys quickly appealed to the 5th Circuit, putting the fate of the act in legal limbo.

On Dec. 23, the 5th Circuit granted the government’s motion to keep the law in place through the appeal, only to reverse on Dec. 26. On Jan. 24, the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the stay, through the completion of review before the 5th Circuit.

To make matters even more confusing for business owners, the high court reviewed the government’s request to lift the stay only in the Texas case, leaving in place a second Texas case, Smith v. U.S. Department of Treasury, in which a stay remains, making current reporting voluntary.

A third federal judge in Oregon denied a similar request for an injunction in September, which will be reviewed by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The U.S. Supreme Court did not provide an explanation for granting the request for a stay — Justice Ketanyi Brown Jackson was the only dissenting voice, noting she did not see a need for the nation’s highest court to intervene because the 5th Circult already expedited its consideration of the appeal by the federal government’s appeal, which already delayed enforcement of the law by nearly four years.

Parties often ask the U.S. Supreme court to review split decisions among appeals court, but since the high court holds arguments for less than 1 percent of the cases submitted, it is impossible to know whether it will step in.

Meanwhile, FinCEN issued an alert last week clarifying the current status of Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting. While the Supreme Court lifted the injunction in the Texas Top Cop Shop case, a separate injunction in the Smith case remains, temporarily blocking CTA enforcement, FinCEN continued. The government has yet to appeal the Smith ruling.

That means companies do not have an immediate filing requirement, but voluntary filing is available.

If CTA proceeds, small businesses would have to file the required benefit ownership report very quickly. Failure to report required information could result in $591 fines per day of violation as well as up to two years in jail and up to $10,000 in penalties.

“In a limbo like this the best practice is to be ready to file,” Megan Henderson, an attorney at the Longmont, Colorado firm Lyons and Gaddis, advised last month.

Specializing in real estate and business transactions, Henderson said she spent much of the past year advising clients on becoming compliant under the Corporate Transparency Act.

Most businesses that filed paperwork with their state to become incorporated are now required to disclose their beneficial owners with the federal government, but exemptions abound. One big carve out is for larger companies generating more than $5 million in gross receipts annually. The umbrella of “beneficial owners” might be broader than some people think and covering not just owners but indispensable managers as well.

FinCEN published a brief guide to help businesses navigate the requirements. While neither a lawyer nor an accountant is required to file the paperwork, the process can seem daunting, especially for mom and pop establishments with limited time and resources.

“It’s going to impact the contractors that service the school districts,” said Chris Wojciechowski, an accountant at the Bonadio Group in Rochester, New York.

Wojciechowski said the regulation is more burdensome to small businesses with fewer resources.

“There’s such a tight timeline regarding compliance,” he continued. “So how is our businesses going to deal with this? They’re going to have to be nimble and be on top of the transition if they turn the law back on.”

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Related: (STN Podcast E238) Time Will Tell: Shakeups in the School Bus Business World (+ Thomas Built Buses CEO Interview)
Related: IRS Publishes Final Rule on Direct Pay for Tax-exempt Government Agencies
Related: Business As Usual for Collins Bus Customers, Says Forest River

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Similar legislation to the Corporate Transparency Act have already been introduced at the state level. One of the first copycat laws comes from New York lawmakers, requiring companies to report ownership by Jan. 1, 2026.

“It’s tricky because every state has their own regulations. I’ve seen companies who operate in one state come to another state and get slapped pretty hard with fines because they did not dig deep into the state regulations for school buses in that state,” said Mark Szyperski, president of On Your Mark Transportation, a consultancy firm based in Nashville, Tennessee.

For Szyperski, who grew up on the seat of his father’s Greyhound bus between Bay City and Detroit, Michigan, transportation is a family business.

Upon entering a new state, Szyperski said he often arranges to speak with the state’s school bus administrator to go over the basics. To be ready for the court’s outcome on the Corporate Transparency Act, he set up a Google alert and included news of the injunction in his newsletter.

“People need to be aware that [the injunction] could be overturned and then you best be getting ready to put the information into the system,” he said.

Ryan Gray contributed to this report.

The post Update: Supreme Court Reinstates Corporate Transparency Act appeared first on School Transportation News.

MONTREAL — The Lion Electric Company (NYSE: LEV) (TSX: LEV) (“Lion” or the “Company”), a leading manufacturer of all-electric medium and heavy-duty urban vehicles, announced today that the Company and its subsidiaries have applied to the Superior Court of Quebec (Commercial Division) (the “Court”) for an initial order to seek protection from their creditors under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (“CCAA”). The Company and its subsidiaries also intend to seek recognition of the CCAA proceedings in the United States under Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code.

In its application for an initial order, the Company seeks the approval of a formal sale and investment solicitation process (“SISP”) in order to provide interested parties with the opportunity to submit proposals with a view to enabling the Company and its senior lenders to determine the highest and best available transaction for the Company and its stakeholders.

The initial order application seeks, among other things, a stay of proceedings in favor of the Company and its subsidiaries, including a stay of creditor claims and exercise of contractual rights, and the authorization of an interim debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing to be provided by the lenders under the Company’s senior revolving credit agreement in order to fund the SISP and the Company’s operations during the restructuring process. Approval is also being sought for the appointment of Deloitte Restructuring Inc. as monitor to oversee the CCAA proceedings and report to the Court. While under CCAA protection, management of the Company will remain responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Company under the oversight of the monitor.

This announcement follows the press release issued by the Company on December 17, 2024 announcing the expiry of the covenant relief period under the Company’s senior revolving credit agreement and maturity of the Company’s loan agreement with Finalta Capital and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Quebec.

Trading in the common shares and other listed securities of the Company on the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”) and the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) has been halted. The TSX has also put the Company under delisting review under its expedited review process. It is anticipated that trading in the Company’s listed securities will continue to be halted until completion of the review undertaken by the TSX and the NYSE regarding the suitability of the Company for listing on the TSX and the NYSE.

About Lion Electric

Lion Electric is an innovative manufacturer of zero-emission vehicles, including all electric school buses. Lion is a North American leader in electric transportation and designs, builds and assembles many of its vehicles’ components, including chassis, battery packs, truck cabins and bus bodies.

Always actively seeking new and reliable technologies, Lion vehicles have unique features that are specifically adapted to its users and their everyday needs. Lion believes that transitioning to all-electric vehicles will lead to major improvements in our society, environment and overall quality of life.

The post Lion Electric File Application for Credit Protection Under the CCAA appeared first on School Transportation News.

The deadline passed for Lion Electric Company to repay loans needed to overcome hundreds of millions in debt, but the school bus manufacturer is not heading into bankruptcy, a company spokesperson said.

The statement made to School Transportation News on Tuesday came amid a Lion press release earlier in the day that highlighted use of the Companies Credit Arrangement Act (CCAA), a Canadian federal law dating back to 1933 that allows insolvent companies to avoid liquidation. This occurs through court-directed compromise or arrangement made by a debtor company and its secured creditors.

Lion on Wednesday formally applied for CCAA protection. It also said it will seek recognition of the CCAA process under chapter 15 of the U.S. bankruptcy code.

In the press release on Tuesday, Lion said it “is currently in discussions with its senior lenders to obtain additional funds pursuant to a new debtor-in-possession credit facility and expects to seek creditor protection” under the CCAA as it seeks to restructure its business and financial affairs. Lion added it pursues a formal sales and investment solicitation process for the company’s business or assets.

The Lion spokesperson referred to the CCAA proceedings as a “stable and structured environment” for various restructuring measures under a Revolving Credit Agreement with two lenders represented by the National Bank of Canada and a loan agreement with Finalta Capital Fund that expired on Monday. No timeline was given for when the CCAA agreements will be finalized.

On Dec. 1, Lion announced the latest of four amendments to the Revloving Credit Agreement and an extension of the Finalta Capital loan agreement, a halt to all production at its manufacturing plant in Joliet, Illinois, and the laying off an additional 400 workers on top of the 120 employees laid off in April. The company has trimmed its workforce from nearly 1,300 employees to about 300.

A separate SEC filing that same day announced the Nicolas Brunet resigned as president.
Four days later, Lion said it reached an agreement to sell its Quebec innovation center for $35 million U.S. The company noted in its third-quarter financial results total liabilities of $500 million and a net loss of nearly $75 million as of Sept. 30.

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Related: Brunet Resigns as Lion Electric President Amid Company Battle to Stay Solvent
Related: Updated: Lion Electric Suspends Manufacturing Operations at Joliet Plant
Related: NYSE to Commence Delisting Proceedings with Respect to the Warrants of Lion Electric

The post Update: Lion Electric Defaults on Credit Repayment, Says It is Avoiding Bankruptcy appeared first on School Transportation News.