DENVER, Colo. — National Association of School Transportation members saw the installation of a new board as well as several awardees during its July 19-22 annual meeting.
The event at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel introduced three new at-large board of directors: Scott Burkoth, vice president of mergers and acquisitions at First Student; Denis Gallagher, Jr., senior vice president of operations at Student Transportation of America; and Jacob Iverson, senior vice president of Landmark Student Transportation as the new. Michael Ahern, CEO at Karpf School Bus was elected Region I Director and David Duke, chief development officer at Beacon Mobility, was elected Region 4 Director.
The Blake A. Krapf Distinguished Service Award went to Bobbie Harman of First Student, the school bus contractor’s senior director of customer and community engagement, in recognition of “recent, significant, substantial and special contributions to pupil transportation contracting.” NSTA memorialized Krapf’s name on the award last year following his death.
B.R. Williams Inc., of New Jersey took home the Contractor of the Year Award, presented in by NSTA in partnership with School Transportation News. Cameron Wood, the 2026 STN Innovator of the Year, was also acknowledged during the annual meeting.
John Elliott, Jr., senior vice president of customer operations at Summit School Services, was awarded the Golden Merit Award for his exceptional dedication to service excellence in the student transportation industry. The Golden Merit Award, introduced in 1969, recognizes school bus professionals who have demonstrated excellence and dedication in service and safety in student transportation. Award recipients are also selected based on their contributions to the industry and their exemplification of outstanding leadership, innovation and decision-making throughout their careers.
AMF-Bruns was announced as the NSTA Vendor Partner of the Year. The award goes to a vendor who has offered superior support to NSTA through committee service, financial commitment and educational contributions to the organization, as well as student transportation as a whole.
Maritza Valentin, the national account manager at AMF-Bruns, accepted the Vendor Partner of the Year award at the 2026 NSTA annual meeting.
Finally, Pat Regan, president of Minnesota Coaches that has been in business serving school districts since 1959, was inducted into the NSTA Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame recognizes excellence in long-term efforts on behalf of the pupil transportation industry.
Pat Regan, CEO of Minnesota Coaches and son of the founder, speaks to NSTA attendees after being inducted into the association’s Hall of Fame.
FEMA nominee Cameron Hamilton testifies before the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on June 17, 2026. (Screenshot from committee webcast)
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Wednesday moved one step closer to confirming the first administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency since President Donald Trump took office last year.
The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 8-4 to send Cameron Hamilton’s nomination to the floor, though it wasn’t immediately clear whether the full Senate would vote before it breaks for its August recess.
Hamilton led FEMA in an acting role at the beginning of 2025 but was fired that May after testifying before Congress that he personally did “not believe it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency.”
Trump has said repeatedly during his second administration he would like to reduce the size and scope of the federal government’s disaster management role, shifting more responsibility to state and local governments.
Trump created a FEMA Review Council last year to propose substantial changes to the agency, which is housed within the Department of Homeland Security. That group released its recommendations in early May, though neither the administration nor Congress has taken steps to implement those proposals.
Hamilton said during his confirmation hearing in June that if confirmed by the Senate he would ensure FEMA is “objective” and “fair.”
He said he believes the agency’s “disaster declaration process and also the federal mentorship that goes into it needs to be improved.”
“I believe states need to receive better customer service. I have full faith and confidence in the FEMA workforce, but we can do better,” Hamilton said. “And there’s a significant amount of areas where that process should be simplified, better understood and we owe you answers, I think, much faster.”
Hamilton wrote in the ethics paperwork that is a required part of the confirmation process after being fired from FEMA in May 2025 he worked as a senior adviser in the Education Department until August.
After that he was hired as the senior vice president of response and recovery at LTS, Inc. in Virginia, where he worked from August until April, when he became a senior adviser/senior counselor at the Department of Homeland Security.
Hamilton reported a salary of $247,916 and a bonus of $350,000 during the roughly eight months he worked at LTS, Inc. He expects to receive another bonus from the company valued between $250,001 and $500,000 at some point in the future.
LTS, Inc. writes on its website that it is “an award-winning enterprise consulting” firm that focuses on emergency response, automated healthcare solutions and occupational health services.
In the ethics agreement filed with the government, Hamilton wrote that he transferred ownership of his consultant business, Onward Operations, LLC, to his spouse in March. He transferred ownership of his retail coffee business, Onward Valor, LLC, to his spouse in January.
The Wyoming Pupil Transportation Association expanded educational programming and interactive networking opportunities during its 2026 annual conference, drawing hundreds of transportation professionals to Casper for two days of leadership, safety and workforce development.
The 2026 WPTA Conference, themed “Driving Into the Future,” was held June 30-July 1 at the Ford Wyoming Center. According to WPTA Conference Coordinator Athena Bartz, the event welcomed 477 registered attendees representing school bus drivers, dispatchers, mechanics, trainers, supervisors, administrators and industry partners from across Wyoming.
“The conference focused on providing high-quality professional development, promoting student safety, sharing best practices, and creating opportunities for networking and collaboration among transportation professionals from across the state,” Bartz told School Transportation News.
Bartz said the conference’s primary goals were to support professional growth, recognize excellence in pupil transportation and provide valuable learning opportunities tailored to every role within the industry.
Educational sessions covered leadership, student management, special needs transportation, school bus safety, maintenance, technician training, dispatcher responsibilities, driver development and current transportation issues. Bartz said the conference also expanded programming for groups that traditionally have had fewer dedicated learning opportunities.
Wyoming Attendees Learn Dispatch, Leadership and Maintenance Skills
Among the new additions were dedicated educational sessions for dispatchers, as well as roundtable discussions for dispatchers, trainers and mechanics that allowed participants to exchange ideas, discuss challenges and share best practices.
Another first-time initiative was the Vendor Passport activity, which encouraged attendees to visit exhibitor booths, ask questions and learn about products and services while becoming eligible for prize drawings. Bartz said the activity increased engagement between attendees and exhibitors. Raffle drawings and badge number prizes were also held throughout the conference to maintain participation.
Additionally, 21 participants completed the National Association for Pupil Transportation Professional Development Series course, Introduction to Leadership and Management.
The vendor show featured 40 booths showcasing school transportation equipment, technology, maintenance solutions and safety products.
Outside the classroom, the conference hosted a Bus Rodeo, Mountain Driving Competition and Mechanics Challenge. Bartz added that 100 competitors participated in the Bus Rodeo, 68 in the Mountain Driving Competition and 42 in the Mechanics Challenge.
Separate conventional and transit bus courses allowed drivers to compete using the type of vehicle they operate each day, while the Mechanics Challenge tested participants’ technical knowledge, diagnostic skills and problem-solving abilities through hands-on scenarios.
Although post-conference surveys are still being collected, Bartz said early feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with attendees praising the expanded educational offerings, new dispatcher programming and increased vendor interaction.
“I’m most proud of how the conference continued to evolve by introducing new educational opportunities while still maintaining the traditions that attendees enjoy,” Bartz said.
In a follow-up email to School Transportation News, WPTA Executive Director Adam Rydel described the conference as a success and said keynote speakers Keith Henry and Chad Hymas were well received. He also confirmed the association plans to return to Casper for its 2027 conference, scheduled June 28 through July 1
RENO, Nev. – Transportation leaders from six school districts across the U.S. shared their team-building secrets in an STN EXPO West panel on Monday.
CEO Antonio Civitella explained how Transfinder administered the fourth annual Top Transportation Teams award program by surveying participating districts’ employees and praised the “exceptional” winners amidst progressively toughening competition.
“These are people who put their people before their processes,” he declared, while moderating the discussion.
A school district does not have to be using Transfinder technology to participate in the Top Transportation Teams program, which entails completing a survey on organizational culture.
This year’s winning districts with under 100 staff members include Franklin Square Union Free School District and Pembroke Central School District in New York, plus Wa-Nee Community Schools in Indiana. Franklin Square UFSD also secured the highest overall rating and highest employee participation rate.
Winning districts with over 100 staff members include Franklin Township Community School Corporation in Indiana, Hoover City Schools in Alabama and Rockwall Independent School District in Texas.
Five out of the six districts are two- or three-time award winners.
Family-Oriented Operations
“Family is everything to Rockwall ISD,” declared Director of Transportation Jennifer Gardella, who was the solo first-time winner.
The concept is so important at two-time consecutive winner Hoover City Schools that Director of Transportation Brad Hayn said he has one team member dedicated to alerting him when someone needs extra attention.
Todd Livesay, director of transportation for Franklin Township, pointed out the toughness of the pupil transportation job but noted that both drivers and students should be given grace since people are imperfect.
Matt Hostetter, transportation and school safety clerk for Wa-Nee, a three-time consecutive winner, shared that group sports games, breakfasts, overnight trips and birthday recognitions help foster closeness in the small district.
“We do lunch [together] every day, we drive each other’s kids, our community just has our back,” concurred Amy Zimmerman, 19A trainer and school bus driver for Pembroke CSD.
Gregg Fox, director of transportation for Franklin Square UFSD, noted that small districts have challenges too, like gossip spiraling out of control or toxic employees quickly poisoning the well. Civitella noted that such employees should not make up more than 10 percent of an organization. Hayn and Livesay added that consistent visionary leadership helps prevent these issues.
Gardella said that showing kindness, leading by excellence and anonymous surveys led to more open communication.
Showing Up & Being Present
Hayn and Livesay shared that asking staff how they are doing usually prompts cathartic conversations on personal issues rather than work ones. Even with over 190 team members, Hayn said he tries to have monthly individual meetings with each one.
These are interactions a leader can’t get while sitting at their desk, Civitella emphasized. Even basics like eye control during conversations are crucial for leaders, he added.
“Some of you might want to drive the bus to avoid some of these conflicts, I get it, but also there’s a benefit of driving a bus because you’re willing to do anything they’re going to do,” he said.
Hostetter confirmed that starting as a bus driver gave him credibility and better relationships with staff when he moved into a leadership position.
“I purposely make myself present,” said Fox, who drives a bus due to the driver shortage but also set up his office phone and email to come to his cellphone so he can spend more time in the drivers’ room.
Meanwhile, Gardella hosts a coffee and snack hour, where staff are allowed to come to her with questions and concerns but also solutions.
Panelists agreed that team lunches, pizza parties and themed celebrations assist with connection.
When Hostetter had cancer surgery earlier this year, he realized he was not alone through an outpouring of best wishes and cards from his staff. Zimmerman, likewise, shared that her staff supportively showed up when her father died and when another driver was diagnosed with cancer.
Hardships create even more connection opportunities that make a transportation team truly like family, Civitella said. “It’s not just those cool leadership terms that everyone’s using and throwing around, it’s got to be personal,” he added.
Word of mouth in the small, tight-knit area around Franklin Square UFSD has gotten retired police officers to come drive a bus, Fox added, which assists with the driver shortage and wage competition.
“I think sometimes as directors, we need to forget about all our problems, and we need to remember that’s a human being who has problems, too,” Hayn advised.
He related the story of a reliable driver, who he sent home to care for her ailing mother and gave extra time off after the mother’s death despite his driver shortage.
While he worried about coverage as drivers missed work due to personal issues, Livesay said that his staff gave grace and rallied around drivers undergoing tough situations at home, creating a cycle of altruism.
“All of our transportation coordinators, every trainer, every mechanic, everybody we had stepped up every day to make sure that we got those kids to school, and we really had no problem getting them home too,” he related. “So, all the worry that I had in my mind was just ridiculous because they are completely selfless.”
Wrapping Up
“It’s not about you, it’s about the team,” Fox underscored. “You’re there to steer the ship but you don’t want to be overbearing while you do it.”
He and Zimmerman agreed that it’s important to not micromanage but let staff take ownership of certain projects.
Livesay counseled transportation directors to have intentional conversations with their drivers, who will in turn spread their resulting positive feelings among their peers.
“Find yourself a mentor,” advised Gardella. She said hers is Teri Mapengo, director of transportation for Prosper Independent School District in Texas, which won a Top Transportation Teams award last year.
“Don’t outgrow the basics” of interacting with team members as humans, Civitella concluded.
RENO, Nev. — Branding expert Bruce Turkel ended and started his keynote presentation July 13 the same way. He pulled his harmonica from his pocket and played a tune.
The National Speaker Association Hall of Fame member and former ad agency executive as well as creative expert began his keynote at STN EXPO West by comparing composers Johann Sebastian Bach and blues musician Sonny Boy Williamson. Although their styles, backgrounds and eras were dramatically different, both created music using the same seven notes.
He connected that idea to student transportation, explaining that school districts, contractors and suppliers often use similar buses, technologies, spreadsheets and operational tools. Those tools are necessary, but they are not what make the organizations memorable.
“The people who are successful are not the people who know how to use the tools, but they are people who create value from the tools,” said Turkel, who is also a best-selling author, adding that successful operations know how to communicate their value by understanding what resonates with current as well as prospective customers.
Much like musicians distinguish and express themselves through the way they arrange notes in a key, transportation organizations stand out through the value and emotion they create. Turkel encouraged attendees to move beyond statistics about fleet size, routes and years of service and instead communicate the peace of mind, opportunity and confidence they provide to students, families and communities.
He related a story of a conference organizer asking him how long he and his wife had been married. Instead of providing a numeral value, he answered with the phrase “not long enough.” In that moment, he added value to his marriage and created value for the conference organizer and her husband. Instead of quoting a number or a fact, he verbalized the importance of his relationship with his wife.
“The facts don’t matter,” he said. “Feelings are what matters.”
Using pre-conference survey results from STN EXPO West conference attendees, he grouped individuals into what he called the five tribes: Protectors, problem-solvers, invisible heroes, culture builders and quiet professionals.
Protectors are driven by student safety, trust, compassion and the responsibility they feel toward children and parents. Problem solvers take pride in finding solutions despite limited resources, staffing challenges and other operational constraints. Invisible heroes work behind the scenes to ensure transportation systems function, often without recognition from the public. Culture builders view their organizations, employees and communities as families and emphasize purpose, relationships and belonging. Quiet professionals value reliability, consistency and calm execution, finding satisfaction in making sure the job is done correctly every day.
Turkel explained that these groups may approach their work differently, but all are motivated by the people they serve. Understanding which tribe best reflects an individual or organization can help transportation leaders communicate their purpose more clearly to employees, parents and community stakeholders.
You Had It in You All Along
Like Dorothy in the “Wizard of Oz,” who always had it in her the power to go home to Kansas, Turkel said transportation professionals already know what they do and why it matters. The challenge, he said, isn’t discovering your value. It’s communicating it. He said it’s not about becoming something different but letting one’s authentic purpose shine through in how they present themselves to the world.
At the conclusion of the presentation, Turkel distributed harmonicas to attendees. He taught the audience a simple sequence of notes before revealing that they were playing along with the famous Beatles’ song, “I Should Have Known Better.” The exercise revealed to the attendees that they did not need years of musical training to create something recognizable and meaningful. They simply needed clear direction, confidence and a willingness to participate.
The harmonica served as a metaphor for leadership and branding. Transportation professionals already have the necessary tools, experience and purpose. Their challenge is to arrange those elements in a way that resonates with the people they serve, he said.
Turkel concluded that good organizations make people feel good, while great organizations make people feel good about themselves. Like a memorable song, the strongest transportation brands are not defined only by their technical performance but by the feelings they create and the lives they influence.
RENO, Nev. — Every decision a transportation leader makes reaches far beyond the issue at hand, explained Keba Baldwin, the transportation director for Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland.
Whether changing a bus route, implementing new technology or making a difficult staffing decision, leaders must consider how those choices affect employees, students, families, and district operations.
During his session Sunday at STN EXPO West conference, Baldwin, the reigning STN Transportation Director of the Year, encouraged transportation professionals to move beyond simply solving immediate problems and instead develop leadership habits that strengthen their organizations over the long term. Drawing on his experience leading one of the nation’s largest school transportation operations, Baldwin outlined several leadership traits that he believes can help directors navigate increasingly complex school transportation environments.
“Our goal for today is just to really understand the decisions that shape your daily operations and the long-term success that you’re looking for,” Baldwin told attendees on Sunday. “Leave out of here with a better understanding, a better playbook of how to do that.”
Baldwin oversees transportation for approximately 85,000 students at PGCPS, which serves roughly 130,000 students outside Washington, D.C. His department includes about 1,400 employees, a fleet of 1,200 school buses and approximately 800 support vehicles. He told attendees that working in transportation departments ranging from 60 buses to one of the nation’s largest fleets has reinforced one lesson throughout his career: Operational challenges rarely disappear as organizations grow. Instead, leaders must learn to adapt their decision-making to increasingly complex systems and larger teams.
“The issues are the same,” he said. “It’s basically how do you scale them up.”
Looking Beyond the Immediate Problem
One of Baldwin’s primary messages centered on what he called “system awareness,” or understanding the ripple effect every decision creates throughout a transportation department. A seemingly simple routing adjustment, he explained, can influence staffing levels, communications with families, training needs and overall public confidence in the transportation system.
“Every decision in your transportation department has a ripple effect,” Baldwin said. “A routing change touches staffing. Your staffing shortage becomes a communication problem. A procurement decision reshapes training. Your technology rollout moves a family’s confidence up or down.”
He cautioned that transportation leaders who focus only on solving the immediate issue are more likely to experience burnout and unintended consequences later.
“The director who only sees that first order is going to get burned out very quick. You have to be able to see it all the way through. You’ve got to play the second, third, fourth order,” he said.
Baldwin illustrated the concept using his school district’s summer transportation planning process. Extended School Year transportation depends on multiple departments meeting tight timelines, while route bidding, dry runs and parent communications all must occur within a condensed schedule. Delays in one department can quickly disrupt transportation’s ability to deliver services.
Baldwin said that same deliberate approach should apply to procurement decisions, which often involve transportation, finance and purchasing departments working together. Rather than rushing contracts or major purchases, he encouraged leaders to understand district procurement processes, carefully review contract language, and build relationships with purchasing and budget officials. Doing so, he said, can help departments avoid costly mistakes while positioning them to take advantage of funding opportunities when they arise.
Building Trust on the Front Lines
Beyond managing budgets and contracts, Baldwin said transportation leaders must remain connected to the people who keep their operations running.
He argued that many administrators describe drivers as “the backbone of the operation,” but said genuine appreciation is demonstrated by spending time alongside frontline employees rather than simply acknowledging their contributions.
Baldwin challenged attendees to consider how often they make themselves visible in the field. “How often are you at your bus depot? How often do you ride a bus?” he asked.
He said regularly riding routes and visiting bus depots allows transportation leaders to better understand the daily challenges drivers face while building trust throughout the department.
“How often do you just show up at a bus depot and get on a bus with a random driver and ride their route?” Baldwin said. “Do you know if you do that, how much clout you will gain? … They’ll see you not so much as a person that sits behind a desk, but rather than a person who understands what they go through.”
Baldwin added that leaders should focus on coaching employees rather than viewing every interaction as a disciplinary conversation, emphasizing the importance of treating staff members with respect while helping them improve.
Strategic Leadership and AI
Baldwin also emphasized the importance of establishing clear expectations throughout an organization.
He encouraged transportation departments to develop strategic plans, mission statements and operational goals that remain visible throughout the year rather than becoming documents that are referenced only during evaluations.
“You’ve got to have your mission, your vision and objectives,” Baldwin said. “People need to know what you’re about when they walk through the door.”
He said those expectations should become part of a department’s daily culture, giving employees a shared understanding of the organization’s priorities and creating accountability among coworkers rather than relying solely on supervisors.
For districts looking to improve efficiency, Baldwin encouraged transportation leaders to embrace artificial intelligence instead of avoiding it.
He said AI has become a valuable tool for drafting communications, analyzing transportation data, updating standard operating procedures, and identifying employee retention strategies.
“We’ve learned to embrace it,” Baldwin said. “Don’t shy away from it. Take it and use it to your advantage.”
In his department, AI has significantly reduced the time required to analyze operational data, allowing staff to produce reports for school board members and district leaders much more quickly than before.
Baldwin said the technology has also helped his team draft standard operating procedures, update employee handbooks and identify workforce trends that can guide recruitment and retention efforts. While AI can improve efficiency, he encouraged attendees to verify the information it produces before incorporating it into operational decisions.
As the session concluded, Baldwin encouraged attendees to continue learning from one another and strengthening the relationships they build across the profession, noting that collaboration is one of the industry’s greatest assets.
He reminded transportation professionals that the work they do carries tremendous responsibility and encouraged them to recognize the value of their contributions while supporting one another.
RENO, Nev. — A total of just over 1,010 years of student transportation experience sat in the “So, You Want to Become a Transportation Supervisor,” four-and-half-hour session July 11 during STN EXPO West.
Not only transportation experience but education experience as well, consultant Alexandra Robinson said, adding that everyone in the room is an educator. Also, among the presenters were industry veterans Timothy Purvis of Pupil Transportation Information, consultant Pamela McDonald, and Rosalyn Vann-Jackson, executive director of enrollment and student services at Broken Arrow Public Schools in Oklahoma.
Vann-Jackson started the first quarter of the seminar by explaining because the school bus serves as an extension of the classroom, employees have opportunities to positively influence students, colleagues and communities. As individuals advance into supervisory roles, however, their responsibilities and challenges often increase, particularly when managing adults, building trust and navigating organizational change, she said.
A central theme of her portion was “level setting,” or creating a shared understanding of expectations, priorities, values and workplace standards. Effective supervisors should establish common language, clearly communicate what employees can expect from leadership and connect operational decisions to the department’s central purpose: safely transporting students.
Rosalyn Vann-Jackson, executive director of enrollment and student services at Broken Arrow Public Schools in Oklahoma, speaking to STN EXPO West attendees.
Healthy Leadership
Vann-Jackson stressed that successful leaders listen before attempting to solve problems. By learning why employees stay, what motivates them and what challenges they face, leaders can develop more effective recruitment, retention and workplace improvement strategies. She shared how employee feedback helped her district target retirees who enjoyed working with children, contributing to significant staffing improvements.
Trust was described as the foundation of a healthy workplace culture. Supervisors build trust gradually by keeping promises, admitting mistakes, listening, giving employees credit, remaining consistent, and working alongside their teams. Trust can be quickly lost through favoritism, poor communication, broken commitments or unexpected demands.
The presenters also encouraged attendees to build relationships beyond their departments, including with unions, district administrators, school leaders and financial officers. Strong internal and external partnerships help transportation leaders advocate for employees, secure resources and create a culture that continues to succeed even when the supervisor is not present.
Building Culture
McDonald continued, discussing the importance of creating relationships. The retired director of transportation for Orange Unified School District in Southern California, noted that leaders should remain visible and available to employees rather than managing exclusively from an office. Regular briefings, informal conversations and opportunities for staff input can improve communication and reduce burnout. Employees should also be included in decisions that directly affect their work, such as selecting new buses, equipment or technology.
She emphasized that transportation departments benefit from the varied backgrounds, languages and experiences of their employees. Recognizing those strengths can improve service across an entire school district.
Successful transportation leaders must also build relationships with students, parents, teachers, principals, special education staff, district administrators, neighboring districts, contractors and community members. These partnerships can provide critical support during staffing shortages, operational changes and emergencies, McDonald said.
Departments should actively promote their accomplishments through awards, employee recognition, team events, professional development and public outreach. Positive visibility can strengthen employee pride, improve morale and demonstrate transportation’s value when district leaders consider budgets. Above all, employees should understand that their work reflects the department and supports the safe transportation of students.
Kristy Flick, operations supervisor for Poway Unified School District in California.
Kristy Flick, operations supervisor for Poway Unified School District in California, said in 1991 her first child was born and she was looking for work that was part-time, allowing her to choose her schedule. She became a sub driver for Poway for two years before becoming a permanent driver and then continued to move up the ranks – from training, to dispatching to routing for students with special needs.
“Then eventually a supervisory job came open, and I thought, oh, why not? I’ll just go for it and try it, and here I am,” she said, adding that the supervisor class gave her suggestions on how to boost morale.
She noted that after COVID-19, bringing camaraderie back to the department has been a challenge. “So that’s something that I want to take back and hopefully go forward with what I learned from here to help with our morale in Poway,” she said, adding it’s all about listening and being a positive person.
Data-Driven Decisions
Purvis continued, addressing data driven decisions. The retired director of transportation for Poway Unified and founder of PTI said transportation supervisors can use data to make stronger operational and budget decisions. Leaders do not need to be experts in spreadsheets or statistics, but they should understand how measurable information can confirm—or challenge—the assumptions made about their departments.
He distinguished between observations and key performance indicators. Statements such as “that bus is always late” or “drivers struggle with backing” may identify a concern, but they do not provide enough information to guide a decision. A key performance indicator uses a measurable number to show whether performance is improving, declining or remaining consistent.
Transportation departments already generate valuable data through routing systems, maintenance records, safety inspections, accident reports, training programs and employee attendance. However, that information is often kept in separate operational silos. Supervisors should connect data across departments to better understand the causes of delays, vehicle problems, accidents, staffing challenges and inefficient routes.
Useful measures may include on-time performance, preventable accidents, driver absenteeism, fleet availability, cost per mile, student ride times, bus capacity and the number of students transported, Purvis explained. These figures become especially important when district administration request budget reductions without reducing service.
He encouraged supervisors to begin with one operational area, select a meaningful measurement and review it consistently. Data should support practical decisions, not be collected simply for the sake of creating reports.
Ian Moter, assistant transportation director for Converse County School District #2 in Wyoming.
Ian Moter, assistant transportation director for Converse County School District #2 in Wyoming, noted Purvis’ section was of particular interest to him. Moter lost his full-time job and started driving a school bus because he had a CDL. He drove a bus for one full school year, and when he returned several staff members quit for personal reasons, and his superintendent provided him to step in to help in the interim. Since then, he was hired to be the assistant director, a move he described as stressful.
“Mostly just because of learning the business side of things,” he said. “I find that 90 percent of these issues, doesn’t come from bus driving specifically. It’s more so learning people and process, and I’m a big proponent of people over process.”
He added the district has implemented Tyler Technologies and Geotab, which have been instrumental in their program. “Just optimizing, finding the data that we need to find our inefficiencies with just maintenance as well as routing and safe student pickup,” he said, adding that they’ve been able to reduce routes from seven to four. “… All of our office staff is brand new to the office staff side of things. My dispatcher is a retired bus driver. She worked for our district for 24 years on one single dedicated route, and so none of us had any of the office experience. And Tyler Tech has helped us be able to just move straight through seamlessly.”
He said he resonated with the section on KPIs. “I really took a lot from this last session about KPIs, and rather than trying to find a people source of ongoing issues, trying to see if there’s an overarching problem that could be used across the board to help efficiencies.”
Alexandra Robinson speaking at the So You Want to Become a Transportation Supervisor class at STN EXPO 2026.
Being a Good Leader
Robinson concluded the seminar with information on how to lead in not only good times but bad. She explored how workplace culture, accountability and self-awareness affect transportation departments. Employees should feel motivated, respected and comfortable communicating with supervisors, said the veteran transportation professional who had stints as director of San Diego Unified in California and as executive director for the New York City Department of Education.
In unhealthy organizations, even a request to meet with a manager can create anxiety, physical stress and fear. Leaders must recognize warning signs such as bullying, passive-aggressive behavior, apathy, poor follow-through and persistent negativity before they spread throughout the department.
Robinson noted that supervisors cannot continually excuse harmful behavior because of staffing shortages, seniority or a lack of documentation. Allowing unsafe or disruptive employees to remain without accountability damages trust and signals that standards are optional. Leaders should ask whether they would confidently allow an employee to transport their own child, said the former National Association for Pupil Transportation president, adding that any hesitation should prompt immediate action. Staffing gaps should not be managed by routinely pulling dispatchers, mechanics, supervisors or directors away from essential responsibilities, as these short-term solutions can create larger safety and liability risks.
Supervisors should also evaluate whether employees are serving in roles that match their skills, Robinson said. Some individuals excel at managing systems, technology or routing but may not be suited in leading people. Cross-training, reassignment and thoughtful organizational planning can help employees contribute successfully without forcing everyone onto the same career path.
Robinson’s section also addressed professional growth. Hard work alone is not enough if results are invisible, and loyalty should not keep employees in unhealthy environments. Leaders should seek meaningful feedback, avoid treating burnout as an accomplishment and focus on progress rather than perfection. Networking and stepping outside one’s comfort zone she described as essential to advancement.
When hiring future leaders, supervisors should look beyond technical experience and consider enthusiasm, curiosity, honesty and willingness to learn, she said. Strong leadership potential often appears in candidates who care deeply about the work, understand their limitations and demonstrate a genuine desire to improve student transportation, Robinson concluded.
RENO, Nev. – In an anecdote-filled leadership training, branding expert Bruce Turkel leveraged his 30-plus years of business and marketing experience to advise transportation directors on becoming more customer-focused.
Seeing Through Their Eyes
The cornerstone of Turkel’s presentation to a room full of transportation directors and vendor partners on day two of the TD Summit during STN EXPO West was to “figure out the difference between what you sell and what you exchange for money.” There is a deeper meaning to the former, he noted.
A Domino’s Pizza executive once admitted, “I’m not in the pizza business, I’m in the problem business.” People don’t buy the product because it’s their favorite food but because it’s a convenient solution for a quick dinner or birthday party to avoid a spouse’s annoyance or a child’s tears, Turkel pointed out.
The “All About Them” author added that the pupil transportation industry already correctly centers around people and specifically kids, rather than details like bus features or superlative tires.
“What you sell is treating every child like your own,” he stated. “What you sell is peace of mind.”
This, he said, holds true even as technology like autonomous buses and AI routing permeate the industry. “All these things will affect what you exchange for money – none of them will affect what you sell,” Turkel declared. “You don’t buy your own products. You don’t use your own services,” he continued. “Perhaps there’s something your audience or your clients see that you don’t.”
Turkel related how he helped a top Bacardi executive see that the company needed a particular marketing strategy to sell high-end liquor to younger generations accustomed to cheaper options. He also shared how he had to see things from his wife’s perspective as a healthcare professional when purchasing a car safe enough for their kids, which led him to swap his convertible for a safety-focused Volvo.
Student transporters, he noted, must consider the perspectives of parents, school boards, superintendents, financial analysts, legislators, mayors and more.
Like Uber and Lyft overtook taxis and AirBnB supplanted hotels, he said, a quality service will supersede an apathetic one. Similar to market research conducted by large brands, he suggested asking parents for their input and sincerely listening since “clients and customers care about how they feel.”
“What you sell is peace of mind.”
– Bruce Turkel
Communicating With Clarity
Turkel advised being clear and not clever, since even the catchiest or sincerest messaging can fail if its audience doesn’t connect with it.
Tracing Nike’s journey from a running shoe company to a ubiquitous brand, he explained how the “Just Do It” slogan came about in the late 1980’s to circumvent buyers’ exercise excuses by selling empowerment and potential. Student transporters must similarly reframe to understand that they empower the economy by providing access to education, he said.
“You’re not moving buses, you’re not moving children, you’re moving opportunity,” Turkel stated.
Parents have a lot of emotion tied up with anything relating to their children, he noted. Thus, student transporters may be able to rework or repackage their offerings without introducing anything new or “repainting the bus.”
“Hearts, then minds,” he advised. “Make an emotional connection before an intellectual connection.”
From watches to coffee to cars, some things become more than just products, Turkel explained. Fancy watches showcase wealth and legacy, whereas Starbucks stores became a third space for community, and vehicle brands came to have associations: Toyotas with reliability, Mercedes-Benz with success, Jeeps with ruggedness, Audi with design and more.
For millions of families across the U.S., the yellow school bus is the face of the school system and even the city, since the driver is often the first face they see in the morning. This is a powerful reflection for transportation managers and an effective way to motivate staff to do their jobs well, Turkel suggested.
Noting how an STN EXPO attendee mentioned that it’s important to avoid reassigning bus drivers, he confirmed that his childhood driver, Ms. Williams, was indeed valued by parents who would inquire after her if she was absent.
“Make an emotional connection before an intellectual connection.”
Managing expectations helps retain trust even if problems arise, Turkel explained. When Discovery Channel expanded into the Latin American market, an executive realistically aimed to be “everyone’s second-favorite channel” by carrying low pressure but universal programming.
Billing a student transportation operation as the best, fastest, cheapest, or anything similar is a mistake since “the -est always comes back to bite you,” he said.
He also emphasized the importance of media training for transportation employees. He shared a stunt involving surprise cameras and a fake emergency which revealed the Guatemalan government didn’t know how to handle PR crises and ultimately led to a positive revamp of its tourism messaging.
And internal consistency is so important, Turkel said his company reviewed its core tenants and fire-able offenses every week.
“Any way you look at it, you can use your authentic truth to manage expectations,” Turkel said. Many problems student transporters face – cutting costs, time management, limited help and more – besiege parents too, he explained, creating another connection point between the two.
While parents prioritize safe yet prompt busing, regulators care about compliance and financial managers highlight cutting costs, Turkel advised transportation directors to take a 50,000-foot view of things. By “creating universal stories,” much like Disney theme parks build on nostalgia to create loyal customers, everyone can become aligned in the mission, he added.
“Reliability creates trust and trust creates value,” Turkel said, adding that value overcomes competition, objections and complications.
“Any way you look at it, you can use your authentic truth to manage expectations.”
– Bruce Turkel
Leading Change with Purpose
“Change is a continual wave of moving parts that are happening all the time,” Turkel declared. Even AI isn’t the cataclysmic new thing it’s feared to be, he said. The internet, radios, movies, the printing press and other innovations were all considered radical at first, then ultimately recognized as beneficial.
“It’s your job to look at things a different way,” Turkel affirmed. He cautioned that leaders especially must understand the intersection of what the company wants and what customers want, then leverage storytelling to guide everyone toward the goal.
“People don’t follow instructions or leaders, they follow stories,” he added.
“We don’t just bring our training, we bring our hearts,” commented LaTedra Bailey, director of transportation for Huffman Independent School District in Texas.
“That’s your story right there,” Turkel told the room of student transporters.
“We don’t just bring our training, we bring our hearts.”
– LaTedra Bailey, Director of Transportation, Huffman Independent School District (Texas)
Survey Stats
Prior to the start of the TD Summit, the transportation director participants took a survey indicating their fleet makeups, procurement projections and areas of focus.
Almost three-quarters of districts represented run their own pupil transportation, while the rest involve contractors in some fashion. Just over 60 percent of operations transport 5,000 or fewer students. Gasoline and diesel overwhelmingly make up their top energy choices, with 40 percent choosing electric. Over half of respondents applied for federal or state funding for clean fuel buses.
Non-yellow bus options came in strong, with 75 percent utilizing vans in their operations, followed by Type A buses at 67 percent, then SUVs and sedans at 63 percent. Type C and D buses came in at about 60 percent each.
About 40 percent plan to spend $100,000 to $500,000 on new buses over the next year, while almost 18 percent plan to spend $1 million to $3 million. The highest concentration, 33 percent, indicated they look to spend $1,000 to $50,000 on new equipment or technology. Almost 40 percent allotted $50,000 to $250,000.
Their top three challenges indicated by directors are: Driver retention and shortages, student behavior and bullying incidents, and improved driver safety and performance. The number one product category that interested them is Artificial Intelligence and Predicative Analytics.
A harvester crane processes a log on a thinning project in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Washington state. A new lawsuit targeting a timber harvest in Oregon could upend management of federal lands across the West. (Photo courtesy of Washington State Department of Natural Resources)
A new lawsuit challenging a logging project in Oregon threatens to unravel the management plans governing hundreds of millions of acres of federal public land.
At stake are thousands of leases and permits covering billions of dollars of economic activity — including mining, drilling, grazing, logging, ski resorts, wind and solar projects, outdoor recreation, hunting and fishing. If successful, the lawsuit could throw the management of huge swaths of the West into chaos.
Some experts fear the new legal uncertainty around federal agencies’ management authority could unleash a tsunami of lawsuits targeting everything from mining to the conservation of wildlife habitat.
“They’ve opened Pandora’s Box here,” said Susan Jane Brown, the attorney who filed the lawsuit and serves as principal at Silvix Resources, a nonprofit environmental law firm.
“When you throw that whole system into chaos, it’s a problem whether you’re the oil and gas industry or the timber industry or someone who wants to take a fall hunting trip. There’s a lot at stake here.”
The legal battle stems from Republican lawmakers’ recent use of the Congressional Review Act, a previously obscure tool, to push for more mining and drilling on public lands overseen by the federal Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service.
Under President Donald Trump, Congress has aggressively used the review power granted by the 1996 law to revoke decisions made during the Biden administration, including financial regulations, energy efficiency standards and auto emissions rules.
Some legal experts contend that by using the law to target public land policy, Congress unwittingly invalidated hundreds of land use plans, along with decades worth of permits and management decisions. The Oregon lawsuit is the first to test that theory in court — but public lands advocates don’t expect it to the be the last.
“This is incredibly destabilizing for anyone that cares about public lands, whether you care about those as an industrial developer or a wilderness advocate,” said John Ruple, research professor of law at the University of Utah’s Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources, and the Environment.
Over the past year, legal experts, agency veterans, conservation groups and industry leaders have warned that Congress was using the Congressional Review Act in a way that could undermine land use plans across the country. Oil and gas drillers could have their permits challenged in court. Ranchers could lose their leases. And understaffed federal agencies would have to redraft hundreds of plans that typically take years to complete.
“This has been flying under the radar,” said Michael Carroll, a land management campaign director with the Wilderness Society, an environmental group. “[Congress] basically opened themselves up to multiple lawsuits from any number of stakeholders calling into question whether or not an agency has the authority to issue permits.”
The Congressional Review Act
The three-decade-old Congressional Review Act requires new regulations issued by federal agencies to be submitted to Congress before taking effect. Congress then has a review period of 60 working days during which it can vote to revoke them.
This review power was rarely invoked until Trump’s first term, when Republicans used it to overturn 16 regulations. The GOP has been even more aggressive in Trump’s second term, overturning 23 rules so far, including conservation standards for water heaters, overdraft lending regulations and restrictions on pollutants in tire manufacturing
Until recently, management plans for federal public lands were not considered “rules” subject to congressional review under the law. Agencies have issued well over 100 such plans since 1996 without ever submitting one to Congress. Those documents guide the work of agency officials who oversee specific areas of land, often covering millions of acres.
Created after years of public meetings and local feedback, they determine which landscapes will be leased for oil and gas drilling, protected for endangered species or open for off-road vehicles, along with a multitude of other uses.
But last year, Republicans asked the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan advisory agency for Congress, to affirm a sweeping new view of the Congressional Review Act. The office found that certain management plans were subject to review because their land use decisions “prescribed policy,” and determined that lawmakers’ queries about those plans had opened the 60-day review “clock” in each instance.
Using this new interpretation, Republicans in the past two years have revoked plans that restricted mining and oil production on federal lands in Alaska, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming.
But the repercussions could go well beyond those specific plans.
None of the plans issued by federal land managers over the past 30 years was ever submitted for review, because no one at the time considered them to be rules. In other words, hundreds of plans covering millions of acres of land could be deemed invalid under the new congressional interpretation.
Oregon lawsuit
Now, a lawsuit in Oregon will put that argument to the test. Cascadia Wildlands, a conservation group in the Pacific Northwest, has filed a complaint challenging a timber harvest on Bureau of Land Management land in western Oregon. That logging project was approved under a management plan that was issued in 2016.
Since Congress now considers such plans to be rules, the plaintiffs argue, the 2016 plan never took effect because it was never submitted to Congress.
Cascadia Wildlands has fought numerous legal battles over logging projects approved by the Bureau of Land Management. If the lawsuit over the management plan is successful, said Nick Cady, the group’s legal director, the same theory would give them leverage to block any logging project issued under the 2016 plan.
“They let the genie out of the bottle,” Cady said. “Instead of just letting [the Congressional Review Act] move forward with whatever Republicans choose to select, it’s worth curbing that by pointing out that it can point both ways.”
If the plan is struck down, activists of all types could use that precedent to challenge any activity on public land governed by a management plan that hasn’t been reviewed by Congress.
“It is a target-rich environment if our lawsuit is successful, and even if it’s not successful we’ve already demonstrated that there’s a lot of interest here,” Brown said. “This is what happens when you overturn longstanding precedent and throw spaghetti at the wall.”
Cady and Brown said they hope their case compels Congress to revise the Congressional Review Act to exempt public land management plans.
This story was originally produced by Stateline, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Wisconsin Examiner, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
Student transportation fleets have a new take on an age-old problem: driver shortages. Millions of CDL holders are out there, so filling seats isn’t as big of an issue as filling seats with safe, reliable drivers who meet performance expectations. Retaining them isn’t easy, either.
How can a school fleet navigate this new world of driver shortage and retention problems? As you read this Driver Shortage Playbook, you’ll learn why traditional school bus driver recruitment strategies are no longer effective and how today’s fleets are adapting.
Understand why financial incentives and fast hiring practices fail.
Find out why a focus on quality over quantity benefits you both.
Take away practical strategies for expanding your talent pool.
Why career pathing for school fleet drivers is so important.
And other ways to improve retention, safety, reliability and compliance.
Fill out the form below and then check your email to get the report.
DENVER, Colo. — EverDriven, the nation’s leading provider of Alternative Student Transportation, today announced the launch of TripCentral, the latest evolution of its transportation management hub designed for school districts to efficiently manage operations while improving visibility, flexibility, and service for students and families.
Developed in direct response to feedback from school district partners, TripCentral evolves EverDriven’s district portal into a transportation management hub where school districts can plan, visualize, update, and analyze transportation services across all of their schools from a single interface, with focus on real-time visibility, operational transparency, and ease of use.
“School districts have been clear about what they need: constant visibility into student transportation, fast access to data, and technology that keeps pace with the complexity of their work,” said EverDriven CEO Mitch Bowling. “TripCentral is our direct response to that. It gives transportation teams the tools to manage student transportation with more confidence, make better-informed decisions, and deliver more consistent service for every student they serve.”
Through TripCentral, districts can: Save valuable staff time by quickly submitting and updating trip requests, organizing transportation details in one place, and tracking trip progress and notifications in real time.
Deliver more personalized transportation services by capturing each student’s unique transportation requirements—including mobility assistance, safety equipment needs, and behavioral considerations—to help ensure the right support from day one.
Support flexible scheduling needs with customized pickup and drop-off arrangements that reflect real-world student circumstances, including changing schedules and housing situations.
Streamline operations with self-service reporting and analytics that provide actionable insights into transportation performance, helping districts improve coordination, allocate resources more effectively, and identify opportunities for greater efficiency.
For districts already utilizing EverDriven’s district portal, TripCentral retains the core functionality users rely on today while delivering a more modern, intuitive interface and significantly expanding the capabilities available within a single platform. Harnessing the power of AI to deliver the best possible experience, TripCentral is the first in a series of meaningful technology improvements EverDriven is rolling out to districts and caregivers at the start of the school year, with on-demand trip changes and additional capabilities to follow throughout the school year.
“As student transportation becomes increasingly complex, districts need technology that not only improves efficiency but helps them better serve students and families,” Bowling added. “TripCentral provides the oversight districts need to manage transportation with confidence while ensuring every student has access to safe, reliable rides to and from school.”
About EverDriven
EverDriven delivers modern student-centered transportation that’s safe, consistent, and built for those who need it most. EverDriven specializes in routing and transporting students across all ranges of needs — from everyday support to the most complex circumstances — including students with disabilities, students experiencing housing instability, and other high-need populations. Serving more than 800 districts across 37 states, the company completed over 2 million successful trips last year. EverDriven’s deeply human, fully compliant, and AI-powered approach helps districts get students on the road in hours, not days, while maintaining consistent, high-trust rides that complement traditional yellow bus fleets. For more information, visit everdriven.com.
In student transportation, communication is not just an operational tool. It is a safety system. As fleets expand across districts, regions and states, traditional communication models are increasingly unable to keep pace with the demands of real-time coordination, incident response and compliance. Forward-looking transportation leaders are rethinking communication not as a standalone function, but as a foundational layer of a modern, safety-critical operating model.
This shift is redefining how drivers, dispatchers and operations teams collaborate to deliver safer and more reliable service for students and families.
The Growing Gap in Legacy Communication Systems
For decades, school transportation has relied on analog radio systems. While historically effective, these systems now present structural limitations in a modern, distributed operating environment: Limited range across rural, suburban and multi-district routes; channel congestion during peak routing windows; fragmented communication across regions and operating companies; lack of integration with routing, safety and compliance platforms; and ongoing infrastructure and maintenance overhead.
At scale, these constraints are not just inefficient. They introduce risks. When communication slows down, safety responses slow down.
Reframing Communication as Strategic Capability
Leading transportation providers are approaching communication transformation with a different mindset. Instead of viewing it as a device upgrade, they are treating it as a core operational capability that directly impacts:
Driver confidence and retention.
Dispatcher effectiveness and workload.
Incident response times and safety outcomes.
Cross-regional coordination during disruptions.
Visibility for leadership and decision-making.
This shift requires strong leadership alignment and a deliberate focus on change management, not just technology deployment. As one operations leader noted, the goal is not to replace radios, but to future-proof communication across the organization.
What Modern Communication Looks Like
Modern communication models in school transportation are defined by a few key characteristics:
1. Real-Time, Nationwide Connectivity
Communication is no longer constrained by geography. Dispatchers can connect with drivers across regions instantly, enabling coordinated responses to weather events, route disruptions, or safety incidents. 2. Seamless Integration with Operations
Communication is increasingly integrated with routing systems, safety platforms and operational dashboards. This creates a unified environment where communication and data work together. 3. Simplicity for Frontline Users
Despite backend complexity, the user experience must remain simple. One-touch communication, intuitive interfaces and minimal training friction are critical for driver adoption. 4. Security and Reliability
As communication becomes digital, encryption, uptime and reliability become essential components of a safety-first architecture.
Execution Matters: The Role of Change Management
Technology alone does not drive transformation. Execution does. Successful implementations typically follow a structured approach: Pilot deployments across diverse operating environments; standardized onboarding and training for drivers and dispatchers; device and workflow standardization to reduce variability; continuous feedback loops to refine usability; and close collaboration between technology, operations and safety teams.
Organizations that invest in change management see faster adoption, higher satisfaction and more measurable outcomes.
Measurable Impact on Safety and Operations
When communication is modernized effectively, the impact is tangible: Faster dispatcher-to-driver response times, often reduced by 30 to 40 percent; improved coordination during emergencies and service disruptions; reduced dependency on physical infrastructure and maintenance overhead; enhanced incident escalation and documentation; and greater consistency across multi-location operations.
More importantly, these improvements translate into better outcomes for students. Faster communication means faster response. And in a safety-critical environment, minutes matter.
Beyond Tech: A Cultural Shift
Perhaps the most important outcome of modern communication is cultural. Drivers feel more connected and supported in the field, dispatchers operate with greater clarity and confidence, and leadership gains real-time visibility into operations. Additionally, organizations move from reactive to proactive decision-making.
This is not just a systems upgrade. It is a shift toward a more connected, responsive and people-centered operating model.
The Road Ahead
As the student transportation industry continues to evolve, communication will play an increasingly central role in enabling: Scalable growth across regions and contracts; compliance with evolving safety and regulatory expectations; integration with AI-driven routing, monitoring and analytics platforms; and a more resilient and adaptive transportation network.
The organizations that lead this transformation will not be defined by the tools they adopt, but by how they integrate communication into the fabric of their operations.
Final Thought
In student transportation, every conversation has the potential to impact
safety. Modernizing communication is not just about efficiency. It is about
ensuring that every driver, dispatcher and operations leader is equipped to
respond, support and protect the students they serve. And that is where technology, leadership and purpose come together.
Editor’s Note: As reprinted from the May 2026 issue of School Transportation News.
Gaurav Sharda is the chief technical officer for student transportation company Beacon Mobility and the 2025 STN Innovator of the Year.
A high-performance steel with MIT origins has come full circle.
After proving its worth in Formula One and Baja 1000 race cars, the computationally designed material has now been incorporated into the 2026 electric race car built by the student-run MIT Motorsports team.
The MIT car is scheduled to race against cars from other universities in the Formula SAE Electric competition in June.
Designing materials
Gregory B. Olson, professor of the practice in the MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering, founded the MIT Steel Research Group (SRG) in 1985 with the goal of using computers to accelerate the hunt for new materials by plumbing databases of those materials’ fundamental properties. It was the beginning of a new field — computational materials design — that would eventually lead to the Materials Genome Initiative, a national program announced by President Barack Obama in 2011.
In 1985, however, “nobody knew whether we could really do this,” says Olson. Olson and colleagues eventually showed that the approach worked, and around 1990 the Army Research Office funded an SRG project aimed at developing high-performance steels for the gears in helicopters. That work came to the attention of producers at “Infinite Voyage,” a science documentary that ran on the Public Broadcasting System.
“When “Infinite Voyage” came to see me about the helicopter gear steels,” Olson remembers, “we got into a discussion about my interest in race cars” and whether the steels might have an application there.
The answer was yes, and Olson found himself connecting with the Newman/Haas racing team that Michael and Mario Andretti were driving for. Newman/Haas was also featured in the “Infinite Voyage” program, so “my first discussion with their chief engineer was on live television,” says Olson, who is also affiliated with the MIT Materials Research Laboratory.
He and colleagues went on to design a novel gear steel that could withstand the extreme conditions associated with a race car. They did the work over a weekend. “The surface hardness was the same as for a conventional gear steel, but we gave it the core properties of an armor steel,” Olson says.
Introducing Ferrium C61
That steel, which became known as Ferrium C61, was commercialized through QuesTek Innovations, the materials-design company Olson co-founded. It became the company’s first product.
Although it was never used in Newman/Haas cars, QuesTek pitched it to Baja 1000 off-road racers.
“We particularly focused on the 1600 class of those racing dune buggies. They would go flying over a sand dune with the wheels spinning in the air. And when they land, there would be a tremendous jolt to the drive gears,” Olson says. The result: The racers’ gears made with conventional steel regularly failed.
“The average life for conventional drive gears was point-six race,” says Olson (meaning on average they lasted for only 60 percent of a race). “With Ferrium C61, we changed it from point-six to six races.” The gears could now complete an average six races before failing.
QuesTek brought that data to meetings with different Formula One teams “to try to get C61 into other racing classes,” Olson says.
Enter Red Bull, the British-licensed Formula One team. “The leading mechanical failure in Formula One racing is gearbox failures,” Olsen says. The gearbox houses the gearset, or collection of gears, in a car’s engine. “Once Red Bull adopted our steel for the gearset, they never had any gearbox failures, and they were world champions four times in the last decade.”
MIT Motorsports heard of this history and within the past year approached Olson about getting a sample of C61. “QuesTek had some stock available, and sold it at a high discount to the MIT team with, of course, instructions on how to heat-treat it,” Olson says.
Because, of course, the students, who are mostly undergraduates, made the gears — and the car — themselves.
Two were waiting on parts. One had been sitting in the bay for four days. Her one certified technician was working hard, but too much of that work had nothing to do with fixing buses. He was printing work orders. Writing notes by hand. Checking on parts. Tracking people down. Moving paper from one step to the next.
When the transportation director asked what was slowing the shop down, Shelly didn’t have a clean answer. She knew the buses were down. She knew the team was stretched. What she couldn’t see was where the hours were actually going.
Does that story feel familiar? The technician shortage is real. Every fleet leader knows that. Hiring is hard. Keeping good people is hard. Finding enough time in the day is even harder.
Still, hiring is only part of the challenge.
The rest hides in the blind spots. It hides in the paper trail, the missing status updates, the parts questions, and the work that pulls skilled technicians away from the buses that need them most.
That is why the technician shortage is a data problem, not just a hiring problem.
A short-staffed shop can feel even shorter when the day is packed with manual work. Paperwork slows everything down. Missing information slows it down more. By the time a fleet leader realizes where the delay is, the delay has already done its damage.
That’s the real cost of fleet blind spots. They steal time from the people who can least afford to lose it.
Kern HSD 5
The hours are there. Too many shops just can’t see where they go.
Most school transportation leaders don’t need another reminder that technicians are hard to find. They live that reality every day. What they need is a clearer view of the capacity they already have.
A technician in a paper-based shop does not just repair buses. They wait on work orders. They check for parts. They stop for updates. They write down what they did. They hand off paper. Then they do it again.
That time adds up fast.
The problem here is visibility, not effort. When leaders can’t see where time is being spent, they can’t protect it.
That leaves good people working inside a system that makes every day harder than it should be.
Fleet leaders deserve better than that. So do their teams.
Better visibility gives technicians more time to do the work only they can do.
A technician should be working on buses, not chasing paperwork.
A fleet leader should be able to see what’s open, what’s waiting, and what needs attention next. They shouldn’t have to piece the story together from paper forms, hallway conversations, and scattered systems.
RTA Fleet360 brings work orders, PM scheduling, labor tracking, parts visibility, and reporting into one clear place. It helps school transportation leaders see what is happening in the shop while the work is happening. That means fewer fleet blind spots, faster answers, and a steadier day for the whole team.
When leaders can see where the hours are going, they can start giving those hours back to the shop.
That changes the pace of the work.
Jobs move faster. Delays are easier to spot. Technicians spend less time on admin drag and more time on the work that keeps buses ready.
Explore Fleet360 for K-12 fleets, or book a meeting with an RTA Fleet Expert to see how better shop visibility can help your team get more from the capacity you already have.
Real fleet leaders are already proving what better systems can do.
At Kern High School District in California, better visibility and tighter control led to a result any fleet leader would notice. Fleet Manager Adrian Corral put it simply: “As soon as we took on RTA … we got our shrink down to about $500.”
Before RTA, the district was dealing with a manual process that took too much time and too much effort to manage. With stronger systems in place, the team gained control, cut waste, and made the operation easier to run from top to bottom.
That matters in a school bus shop.
It means fewer things slipping through the cracks. It means better stewardship of public dollars. It means a leader can speak clearly about what is happening and what is improving.
Better visibility helps school transportation leaders make stronger decisions.
A fleet leader shouldn’t feel like they have fleet blinders on.
They should be able to see what work is open, what’s behind schedule, and where the pressure is building. When that visibility is clear, it gets easier to set priorities, explain decisions, and back up the team with real numbers.
That kind of clarity changes the job.
Instead of reacting to every new problem, leaders can get ahead of them. Instead of walking into tough conversations with partial answers, they can walk in with proof. Instead of feeling buried by blind spots, they can lead with a steadier hand.
The next step for school bus fleets that want more control –
School bus fleets don’t need bigger blind spots. They need cleaner information, stronger workflows, sharper planning, and a better way to turn daily effort into measurable progress.
RTA Fleet360 helps make that happen. It brings maintenance, PM, labor tracking, parts visibility, and reporting into one clear place. Transportation directors can see more clearly, parts managers can respond faster, and buses can get back on the road safely. With RTA Fleet360, fleet leaders can lead with confidence.
Why is finding qualified school bus drivers, mechanics and fleet managers such a continuous pain point? According to the Transportation Director Summit survey of 82 industry leaders who attended last month’s STN EXPO East, 57 percent ranked driver retention and shortages as their single biggest challenge in 2026.
The labor market remains tight, and the challenge is no longer just “finding people”—it’s competing for them when districts cannot simply raise wages. School board-approved pay scales lock compensation into predetermined steps, often tied to seniority or certifications rather than market demand. Corporate giants like Amazon, Walmart and local logistics firms can adjust to pay overnight while public school districts cannot. So, how do you market your district or company effectively and retain talent when the most obvious lever—higher pay—is off the table?
Marketing for job candidates demands precision and authenticity, not bigger budgets. Instagram, YouTube, TikTok (where district policies permit), and Facebook remain the most cost-effective channels for hyperlocal reach. Paid campaigns now use AI-driven targeting that zeroes-in on CDL holders, retirees seeking part-time stability, stayat-home parents needing mid-day flexibility, military veterans with logistics experience, or gig-economy workers craving predictable routes—all without ever leaving your district’s geographic radius. Organic content is even more powerful because it costs nothing beyond staff time.
“Your current school transportation team members are your best brand ambassadors,” said 2026 STN EXPO East keynote speaker Jim Knight, formerly the head of global training for Hard Rock International. For more than 20 years, Knight built one of the world’s most legendary service cultures by turning every Hard Rock employee from stagehands to executives—into passionate, authentic advocates. He proved that no amount of slick advertising or big-budget campaigns can match the credibility of real people who live the brand every day. The exact same principle applies to school transportation operations. It is especially powerful when pay scales are locked by district policy.
School bus drivers are already the face of your organization. Every morning, they greet families at bus stops. Every afternoon they deliver children safely home. They interact with students, parents and the community in ways no recruitment poster or corporate ad ever could. When these insiders voluntarily share their real experiences—the satisfaction of a flawless pre-trip inspection, the joy of a kindergartner’s first-day high-five, the pride in mastering new safety technology or efficiency tools, or the camaraderie during a snow-day operation—prospects listen with a level of trust that money alone cannot buy.
This internal advocacy is your ultimate competitive advantage. Job candidates today don’t just want a paycheck. They want proof that the job is meaningful, the culture is supportive and the technology makes their day easier. Your team already has those stories. All you have to do is give them a megaphone.
Hiring is only step one. Retention must come from non-monetary levers that you can control. Offering a flexible schedule can be valuable as people demand more work-life balance. Many districts now offer split-shift or four-day route options, mid-day breaks
for drivers, and predictable “no-weekend” commitments that competing employers cannot match. These arrangements often require creative planning and dialogue—not more money.
Technology makes the job easier (most of the time). Mobile apps for real-time schedule changes, instant PTO requests and digital pay stubs reduce frustration. Performance dashboards track on-time performance and safety metrics, then automatically trigger personalized digital “thank-you,” bonus points toward extra vacation days, gift cards or priority shift selection—recognition that feels immediate and data-informed.
Districts succeeding in 2026 need to consider that public recognition events (Driver of the Month with a reserved parking spot and district-wide shout-out) create belonging. Positive reinforcement and safety are tightly linked. Districts using digital recognition platforms report measurable drops in minor incidents and absenteeism because people who feel seen and supported simply drive and maintain equipment more carefully. School transportation leaders do not need unlimited budgets. They need a deliberate, tech-enabled strategy that showcases the job realistically, removes daily friction through smart tools, and builds a culture of appreciation and growth within the financial and policy guardrails that already exist.
Start with your own employees’ stories, amplify them with the platforms and targeting tools available today, and then surround those new hires with technology and human-centered perks that make your operation the place people choose to stay, even when the pay scale stays the same.
Editor’s Note: As reprinted from the April 2026 issue of School Transportation News.
Kansas City Public Schools Superintendent Jennifer Collier. Cover design by Kimber Horne Cover photo for Zum by Alexis Cronk with Cronk & Co Collective.
This month’s issue features the leadership perspectives from superintendents on the importance of student transportation on educational access for students and how they’re navigating in the educational world. The other features look at school transportation mobility models and factors to consider when upgrading current school buses or purchasing new ones. Also, learn more about the intricacies of addressing safety issues, fresh ideas for staff recruitment and training with AI.
What’s Trending?
Superintendents share how they’re navigating some of the challenges impacting not only education but also transportation operations.
Features
Something Old vs. Something New
Other factors besides cost are considered when districts decide to either upgrade their current school buses or purchase new ones.
How Do Your Kids Arrive at School?
A child can get to school in a variety of ways. Operations discuss how they are ensuring a safe route to school regardless of the mode.
Special Reports
Safety Upgrade Complexities
State laws are normally reactive to various safety related incidents, and Texas and Maine are no different. But experts say that solving one safety issue could create others when retrofitting a fleet.
CONCORD, N.C. — Jim Knight started his keynote address at STN EXPO East like a concert, highlighting that culture isn’t something you talk about. It’s something people feel. And attendees felt that energy as they walked into the room and heard the music playing over the speakers.
His message Monday was clear: If you want a culture that rocks, you have to create experiences people won’t forget. A feeling of culture starts with moments.
Knight, the former head of global training and development for Hard Rock International’s hotels, casinos, dining and entertainment, quickly moved past traditional definitions of culture. Instead, he grounded the concept in something far more tangible: human behavior.
“Fantastic, awesome, world-beating cultures—they only exist because of human behaviors,” he said.
To illustrate, he shared a story about witnessing a fast-food employee near Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida, interact with a young girl dressed as a princess. Rather than simply take her order, the employee bowed and declared, “All hail the princess,” prompting the entire staff to follow suit.
The moment lasted seconds but its impact, Knight said, is probably something the girl’s family still talks about. “That’s culture,” he said, adding that culture is not heritage, legacy or the past. “Culture is what’s happening right now.”
The ride to and from school may be routine. The interaction is not. “The student experience has to rock,” he continued. “And that starts with the relationship. How the driver made me feel, that’s what matters.”
At its core, he defined culture simply as “a collection of people,” each bringing their own behaviors into the organization. That definition carries weight in an industry facing persistent driver shortages and turnover.
Side Bar: Jim Knights’ 10 Takeaways
1. Fantastic cultures only exist because of human behaviors
2. Celebrate heritage (past), but focus on the present (people)
3. Be Like U2 – Everyone signing off the same sheet of music
4. To avoid four-letter words, don’t provide/endorse mediocrity
5. People crave differentiation – deliver personalized experiences
6. In a world of darkness, be a bright light in each student’s day
7. Treat each person special – Like it’s your first day of work
a. Create generational fans (you have the parents & the kids on your bus)
9. The true path to cultural Nirvana’s through 3C rock stars – YOU ARE THE AMPLIFIER
10. Change your mindset from transportation to creating experiences
BONUS: Position the Job to be Tattoo-Worthy
“Every time somebody joins or leaves [an organization], culture changes,” Knight said, adding that the student transportation industry faces a retention challenge. “If you could hold on to the right people, you’d have exactly what you want.”
Knight used a simple exercise. He asked attendees to close their eyes and point in the direction of true north, to demonstrate how easily organizations drift without alignment. “If everybody’s guessing, you get confusion,” he said. “If everybody’s aligned, you get productivity.”
He compared it to a band, using U2 as an example. While Bono and The Edge may draw the spotlight as lead singer and lead guitarist, respectively, the rhythm section of drummer Adam Clayton and bassist Larry Mullins, Jr., keep the band on the same page.
“Everybody has a role to play,” Knight said. “But you’ve got to be singing off the same sheet of music.”
In transportation, that means consistent communication from leaders to the school bus drivers. Everyone needs to be in tune about expectations, priorities and purpose.
“If you don’t share it, people will make it up,” he added.
One of Knight’s most pointed observations centered on what he called “acceptable mediocrity,” and four-letter words that he hates. Words like “fine,” “good” and “okay” may sound harmless, but he argued they signal something deeper.
“They scream mediocrity,” he said, adding that over time, organizations begin to accept these outcomes as success.
Differentiation Happens One Interaction at a Time
Knight emphasized that creating a standout culture doesn’t require sweeping changes. It starts with small, intentional actions.
“Read the person. Seize the moment. Personalize the experience,” he said, recalling his time at Hard Rock, where he made it a point to engage each guest in a unique way—whether through humor, conversation or simple recognition.
“You do that, you create loyalty,” he said. “You create stories.”
The same principle applies to student transportation. “People crave differentiation,” Knight said. “Deliver personalized experiences, and you build comfort, safety and trust.”
He played a video each Chick-Fil-A location shows to all new employees. The video highlights different people eating at the chain fast-fodd restaurant, with captions about what’s each person has going on in their lives. Everyone is dealing or navigating something. Every life has a story if we bother to read it, he said.
As a result, Chick-Fil-A immediately communicates the culture of caring they want from their employees.
“In a world of darkness, be a bright light in each student’s day,” Knight continued.
For many students, the bus ride is more than transportation. It’s a transition point, and sometimes the first interaction students have of the day. It puts drivers in a uniquely influential position.
Jim Ellis, director of transportation at Henrico County Public Schools in Virginia, noted that culture and the driver shortage tie hand and hand. “If you don’t want to be here, then I really don’t want you,” he said, underscoring the importance of cultural fit in a role that involves transporting children. He pointed to the driver shortage as a complicating factor, making it harder to be selective, but stressed that long-term success depends on building a team committed to more than just driving.
“You’ve got to be the one that fits that culture… making sure that you are that first thing they see.”
Britton Overton, director of transportation for Pender County School District in North Carolina, added that staffing challenges also impact morale, which in turn shapes culture. “It definitely affects culture, but also morale—and morale helps to build that culture or tear it down,” he said, noting that supporting drivers and maintaining positivity are critical to sustaining both.
Knight also challenged attendees to reflect on their own mindset. Think back to the first day on the job, he said, a time when employees arrived early, paid attention and took pride in every detail.
“Somewhere along the way, we lose that,” he said, adding that employees start cutting corners by focusing on their own gain the longer they stay in an organization.
Reclaiming that “day one attitude” is essential to sustaining culture over time, he commented.
Tisha Hergert, transportation director for Onsted Community Schools in Michigan, said Knight was very enthusiastic. “Everything that he mentioned to us, it was so easy to break down and will be very easy to implement. When I go back to my district, I feel like I can fire my crew up.”
Ultimately, Knight reinforced that culture is amplified, or diminished, by the people delivering the experience. He outlined what he called the “three C’s” of high-performing teams: Competence, Character and Culture fit.
“The true path to cultural nirvana is through 3C rock stars,” he said, adding that in student transportation, those rock stars are the drivers.
Beth Allison, safety and training instructor for Prince William County Public Schools in Virginia, poses with Jim Knight after his keynote at STN EXPO East March 30, 2026.
Knight closed with a mindset shift that tied the session together. “Stop thinking about transportation,” he said. “Start thinking about creating experiences.”
Because while routes, schedules and safety protocols are essential, they are only part of the equation. What students and families remember and what defines culture, is the human interaction.
“Don’t just think about this stuff,” Knight said in his final remarks. “Act on it.”
Overton told School Transportation News that Knight’s keynote was “very inspirational.” He noted that culture has become “a big word in discussion nowadays,” adding that Knight offered practical takeaways that he plans to implement back home. “
“[Knight] gave me some good insight and broadened my thinking of how I can make our transportation better in our district,” Overton added, emphasizing that sessions like the Monday keynote are about learning what works and adapting it locally.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – “For district nirvana, crush both student and driver experiences,” advised Jim Knight, who spent over two decades as head of global training and development for Hard Rock International’s hotels, casinos, dining and entertainment. “From a leadership standpoint, you can always ramp it up.”
“What I want to be for you is a catalyst,” the best-selling Culture That Rocks author told the transportation directors and supplier partners gathered at Topgolf Charlotte Southwest Saturday morning for leadership advice. “I know a lot about getting the right people around you and then loving on them, so they won’t want to leave.”
Leaders in attendance for the Transportation Director Summit at STN EXPO East said their priorities included driver retention, on-time performance, low absenteeism and reduced accidents. They also identified integrity, empathy, vision and communication as the most important leadership qualities. This lines up with top qualities acknowledged by popular motivational trainers, Knight confirmed, with the overall goal of building trust.
Drawing from the idea of a curated concert setlist, Knight led attendees through an exercise to pare down their most time-consuming work activities and prioritize the essentials with the greatest immediate impact.
Recruitment, Retainment Strategies in a Changing World
Organizational environments are either virtuous or vicious depending on who leaders hire, Knight explained during his fast-paced “edu-tainment” training.
He expounded that the vicious cycle sees morale and work culture tainted by negative school bus drivers, which in turn disturbs student experiences and may lower ridership. Targets missed and staff leaving mean mounting pressure and poor decisions, such as supervisors having to drive routes or lowering standards to put any warm body behind the wheel. In contrast, a positive driver and student experience leads to rave reviews and organizational growth at what will become known as an attractive place to work. This virtuous environment births more rock star leaders, Knight established.
“Stop recruiting like you’re filling seats – you have to build a band.”
– Jim Knight
While today’s average age of a U.S. school bus driver is 56, Knight underscored that the next generation of Millennial and Generation Z workers values individuality, flexibility and work-life balance. They are tech-savvy and socially conscious. For better or worse, he said, he’s noticed they don’t tolerate bad bosses, readily job hop, are prone to litigiousness and desire enrichment. They are generally visual learners with shorter attention spans, so he prioritizes pictures in training manuals.
He encouraged attendees to embrace generational differences from Baby Boomer to Generation Z workers and to tap into these characteristics when hiring new talent. While colorful hair or facial piercings, for instance, may give managers pause, he noted that student riders appreciate seeing role models who resemble them.
Rather than complaining about a talent drought, Knight advised actively seeking out potential drivers in unconventional places. Attendees suggested searching among fast food restaurants, colleges and trade schools, social media, stay-at-home parents, veterans, retirees, job boards, aides and custodians.
Framing the job through flexibility, purpose, stability, community and student impact helps, as does tailoring the hiring message to the recipient.
“If you want rock stars, you have to think differently,” Knight stated. “Stop recruiting like you’re filling seats. You have to build a band.”
He suggested using eye-catching AI-generated recruitment posters with humorous sayings or rock music puns, with an attendee contributing the promotional slogan, “Yellow air-conditioned office with corner windows!”
Knight stressed the importance of valuing the often-overlooked workers who are the backbone of the school district, sharing the story of how Hard Rock Cafe once utilized premade food to save costs, to the chagrin of its customers. Reversing course, the restaurant chain reintroduced fresh-cooked food accompanied by a marketing campaign featuring a leather-clad, fancy car-riding “rock star” who turned out to be a chef.
“Who are your rock stars?” he queried. Valued and celebrated student transporters are the show, he said, so make them feel appreciated.
Similar to how volunteers show up for the cause and not for money, Knight encouraged attendees to have such strong workplace culture that student transporters enthusiastically choose to stay.
Team meetings, regular employee check-ins and open communication channels are a must, Knight emphasized. “If you want people to stay with you long term, you need growth and development,” he added.
White it may be tempting for a boss to zip straight to their office first thing in the morning, it’s more important for the team dynamic to take time for small talk and make employees feel loved, he said.
He reviewed a Gallup survey of over two million employees at 700 companies worldwide which found that a supervisor is the single most important influence in an employee’s decision to quit.
Additionally, Knight shared statistics from Heart-Centered Leadership by Susan Steinbrecher and Joel Bennett, Ph.D. showing that almost half of employees leave a company because they feel underappreciated. Almost 90 percent said they don’t receive acknowledgment for their work.
“People join companies. They leave individuals,” he noted.
He encouraged the leaders in the room to intentionally and authentically fill their employees’ “emotional bank accounts” to encourage them to stay. An attendee added that this is also an important concept when at home among families.
Just as every great musical group has a signature sound, every leader has a signature strength to offer their team, which Knight encouraged them to crank “up to 11” ala the music mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap. And like superfans don’t just love the music but also desire the connection of a backstage pass to meet the artists personally, Knight stated that leaders should ask intentional questions and get to know their workers on a deeper level.
“I can teach someone with a good heart to drive a bus, but I can’t teach someone to have a good heart.”
– Gerald Henry
Director of Transportation
Lexington 1 School District (S.C.)
He also advised leaving job positions open longer to hire the right person.
“I can teach someone with a good heart to drive a bus, but I can’t teach someone to have a good heart,” agreed Gerald Henry, director of transportation for Lexington 1 School District in South Carolina.
Quoting Bob Dylan’s quote “there is nothing so stable as change,” Knight encouraged attendees to refocus their thoughts and resources to only their “circle of influence” to maximize happiness and effectiveness.
He also advocated for supportive mentorship opportunities, such as the inaugural School Transportation NewsPeer-to-Peer Mentorship Program, which grouped STN EXPO East attendees based on years in the industry, district size, fleet makeup and areas of interest.
Knight provided famous music industry stories to demonstrate that success can be achieved through perseverance and resilience. He cited the examples of Phil Collins taking over the Genesis lead singer duties from Peter Gabriel, a street performer who went on to become Lady Gaga, or a drummer losing an arm and reinventing his playing style like Def Leppard’s Rick Allen.
While every concert has a slow song where the lighters (or the cellphone flashlights) come out, Knight noted that moment is not when the show ends. Instead, the energy always ramps back up with a faster paced song.
“Each of you has the power to light up or extinguish the cultural flame of the district, via your leadership,” he concluded. “Light it up!”
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Speaker and author Jim Knight, left, smiles with STN Publisher & President Tony Corpin, right.
Jim Knight will present the keynote “Culture That Rocks: Set List on How to Amp Up the Company’s Culture (to Eleven) and Deliver Sustainable Results” on Monday, March 30, 2026, from 10:15 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
CONCORD, N.C. — Stress may be higher than ever for school transportation professionals, but it does not have to dictate performance or personal well-being. That was the central theme during an STN EXPO East conference opening general session, with a keynote that urged attendees to “care less without being careless” in both their professional and personal lives.
Bret E. Brooks, the chief operating officer and senior consultant with Gray Ram Tactical LLC, has worked in pupil transportation security training since 2007, drawing upon a 23-year career in law enforcement as well as 26 years and counting in the U.S. Army National Guard. His forthcoming book, “How to Care Less About Being Careless,” explores the new pressures many people deal with in addition to already demanding jobs.
Technology, 24/7 connectivity, staffing shortages, safety expectations and family responsibilities all collide, he said Friday at the Embassy Suites Charlotte-Concord.
“We are experiencing more stress today than at any point in the past,” he added. “But it is possible to care the right amount.”
Brooks distinguished sharply between being careless and caring less. The latter, he explained, means not giving sufficient attention to critical tasks such as planning for traffic or driving safely, which can result in missed flights, preventable crashes or lax safety practices. Caring less, by contrast, is a deliberate effort to let go of excessive anxiety and over-attachment to minor outcomes so that leaders can think clearly, remain open-minded and solve problems creatively.
He termed this phenomenon the “law of reverse effect,” in which trying too hard produces negative results. He pointed to student-athletes, like his own daughter, who false-started in her first race the day before because she was too obsessively focused on not false-starting. Similarly, motorists who constantly change lanes in heavy traffic find they only continue to fall behind by over-correcting.
A turning point in his own understanding of stress came during a deployment to the U.S. southern border with the National Guard. Brooks was unexpectedly placed in charge of the Joint Visitors Bureau, responsible for planning every VIP visit along 2,000 miles of border, including trips by vice presidents, generals, governors and members of Congress. He described working 20-hour days, seven days a week for six weeks, losing weight, sleeping little and watching his internal “carometer” ping into the red.
Eventually, his commander pulled him aside and told him to care less, but don’t be careless. Brooks said that simple phrase forced him to reconsider whether a mayor waiting 10 minutes for a vehicle or a general missing a helicopter tour was worth sacrificing his health and effectiveness. That mindset later shaped his training work with school districts and conference audiences nationwide.
Throughout Friday morning’s session, Brooks reminded attendees that many of their current stressors did not exist 25 years ago. Streaming subscriptions, smart devices and constant Internet access now occupy mental space that once did not exist, he noted, yet much of that stress is optional and can be reduced. To make the point concrete, he asked attendees to privately write down their top three stressors and, later, their top three life priorities. He then challenged them to compare the two lists.
When stressors and priorities do not match, he said, leaders may be pouring energy into issues that do not support their long-term goals, either at work or at home.
Brooks encouraged participants to look at their lives from a “30,000-foot view,” like the perspective from an airplane window, and to distinguish between “meat” and “gristle” on their plate, citing the famous “Old 96er” scene in the 1988 John Candy movie “The Great Outdoors,” where the late actor John Candy’s character thinks he has finished a 96-ounce steak at a restaurant only to find out he also needs to finish the gristle.
The meat on our collective plates, Brooks said, represents truly essential tasks and responsibilities. The gristle is made up of duties and expectations that can be delegated, rescheduled or removed entirely.
He shared a story about insisting his son clear his plate during a celebratory family dinner to illustrate how easy it is to lose sight of the bigger picture. The point of the outing, he acknowledged in hindsight, was not caloric intake but celebrating his son’s achievement. But focusing on the uneaten food, he left the restaurant with a sick stomach and an unhappy family.
Citing leadership and time-management thinkers Stephen R. Covey and Simon Sinek, Brooks urged transportation professionals to clarify their “why” for being in pupil transportation, to explicitly name their top priorities, and then to schedule those priorities before filling the calendar with routine tasks. He echoed Covey’s guidance that what people do reveals their real priorities more than what they say, stating, “Action expresses priorities.” A leader may claim that spending time with family or focusing on recruitment and retention is a top priority, he observed, but if those items never appear on the daily agenda, they are not true priorities in practice.
Brooks recommended that attendees adopt the “WIN” framework by asking, “What’s important now?” whenever priorities collide. He acknowledged the tension between professional obligations and family events by recounting his own decision to miss his daughter’s regular season track meet to open STN EXPO East. The conference, he said, takes place on a single day and offers a unique opportunity to share information with peers nationwide, while his daughter will have multiple meets later in the season. In other circumstances, such as a state championship or once-in-a-lifetime family event, the equation would change and tip heavily toward making his home life the priority. The WIN question, he said, helps leaders sequence their commitments without abandoning their deeply held values.
The keynote further explored Covey’s urgent-important matrix. Brooks warned against living in the “urgent and important” quadrant, where every day feels like a wrong-way driver bearing down on a school bus. Constant crisis mode, he said, will inevitably push the carometer into dangerous territory.
Instead, he urged participants to move as much of their work as possible into the “important but not urgent” quadrant. In practical terms for school transportation, that means planning back-to-school, in-service training months ahead, forecasting routing, staffing and fleet needs well before school starts, and addressing long-term safety and recruitment strategies before they become emergencies. By contrast, he described much of what appears on television or in sensational news coverage as either “not important and urgent” or “not important and not urgent,” both of which can waste time and attention.
Brooks also addressed conflict management, encouraging a “win-win” mindset with parents, staff, administrators and outside partners. Using simple examples such as a customer buying a Big Mac at McDonald’s, he demonstrated how both sides can walk away with value when solutions are constructed thoughtfully.
He cautioned against turning disagreements into “mutually assured destruction,” where both parties end up worse off, and noted that adversarial approaches in marital or workplace arguments often land in a lose-lose outcome rather than the win-lose or lose-win people imagine.
Regarding work-life balance, Brooks rejected the idea that people should strive for equal hours on each side of a scale. Instead, he said, the real challenge for school transportation professionals is to weigh events appropriately. A routine workday is roughly equivalent to a routine family day. A major training event or the first day of school, with new routes and new drivers, may outweigh a standard evening at home. On the other hand, a child’s state championship, a wedding, a birth or a funeral should outweigh almost any ordinary work commitment. The goal, he said, is not a perfectly level scale but to ensure it tips in the right direction at the right time and for the right reasons.
Brooks closed by underscoring Covey’s seventh habit of “sharpening the saw.” He shared a story from his family’s farm in Missouri, where he spent a full day cutting trees in an overgrown field without taking breaks. His brother, who arrived later, paused often to hydrate and sharpen his chainsaw, and ultimately felled more trees.
The incident, Brooks said, taught him that grinding nonstop without rest or renewal eventually leads to diminished returns. For transportation leaders, sharpening the saw means attending conferences like STN EXPO East, taking real vacations without working through them, scheduling regular getaways with a spouse or family, and respecting both their own downtime and that of their staff. Calling employees during vacation for non-critical issues, he added, undermines their ability to reset and return ready to perform.
“Life is not an eating contest where you have to finish everything on your plate,” Brooks told the audience. “You can push some things off. You can care less about the right things and still never be careless where it counts, especially when it comes to student safety.”
GLENDALE, Ariz.— RTA: The Fleet Success Company is proud to be Certified by Great Place To Work for the 3rd time in the last 4 years. The prestigious recognition is based entirely on what current employees say about their experience working at RTA. This year, 99% of employees said it’s a great place to work, 42 points higher than the average U.S. company.
Great Place To Work is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience, and the leadership behaviors proven to deliver market-leading revenue, employee retention, and increased innovation.
“Great Place To Work Certification is a highly coveted achievement that requires consistent and intentional dedication to the overall employee experience,” says Sarah Lewis-Kulin, Vice President of Global Recognition at Great Place To Work. “By successfully earning this recognition, it is evident that RTA stands out as one of the top companies to work for, providing a great workplace environment for its employees.”
At RTA, culture isn’t a perk; it’s a foundation. The company operates on three core virtues: Humble, Hungry, and Smart. These aren’t aspirational values written on a poster, but a rigorous hiring and operational standard that shapes every decision the company makes, from who joins the team to how they serve their 1,000+ fleet management clients.
“Earning this recognition three times isn’t something that happens by accident,” said Josh Turley, CEO of RTA. “It happens because we are deeply intentional about who we bring into this company and how we treat them once they’re here. We set a high bar, and our team clears it every single day. Seeing 100% of our employees say they trust our leadership to be honest and ethical, and that they genuinely care about each other. That’s the culture we’ve worked hard to build and protect. I couldn’t be more proud of this team.”
Additional highlights from this year’s survey include:
100% of employees say management is honest and ethical in its business practices.
100% say people here are willing to give extra to get the job done.
100% say people care about each other here.
100% say when you join the company, you are made to feel welcome.
99% say people here are given a lot of responsibility.
RTA’s commitment to its people is also a commitment to its purpose: We Help Fleets Succeed. The company believes that the same care and intentionality brought to serving fleet managers, an often overlooked and under-resourced profession, must be brought to caring for the people doing that work.
According to Great Place To Work research, job seekers are 4.5 times more likely to find a great boss at a Certified great workplace. Additionally, employees at Certified workplaces are 93% more likely to look forward to coming to work, and are twice as likely to be paid fairly, earn a fair share of the company’s profits, and have a fair chance at promotion.
WE’RE HIRING!
Looking to grow your career at a company that puts its people first? Visit our careers page at: rtafleet.com/careers
About RTA
With over 45 years of industry experience, RTA: The Fleet Success Company delivers a modern fleet management information system (FMIS) and legendary fleet consulting services. RTA’s software is built by fleet professionals for fleet professionals that manage most of their maintenance in-house. From budgeting and performance reporting to streamlining technician and inventory workflows, RTA gives fleet teams the tools and resources they need to run high-performing, cost-efficient organizations. The combination of easy-to-use software, practical consulting, and the industry’s best customer service helps public sector and enterprise fleets make better decisions and maximize operational efficiency.
About Great Place To Work Certification
Great Place To Work Certification is the most definitive “employer-of-choice” recognition that companies aspire to achieve. It is the only recognition based entirely on what employees report about their workplace experience, specifically how consistently they experience a high-trust workplace. Great Place to Work Certification is recognized worldwide by employees and employers alike and is the global benchmark for identifying and recognizing outstanding employee experience. Every year, more than 10,000 companies across 60 countries apply to get Great Place To Work-Certified.
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