Letter from Director

Every day, our buses travel over 1500 miles - about the same as driving to Miami, making 1800 stops along the way. We give rides to 1300 students, twice a day. Over the past 10 years, we have gone over 3,000,000 miles and given 4,300,000 rides. We have done this without any serious injury to any of our students - and without a chargeable accident.

      To accomplish a record like that takes several things:

First of all, it takes good drivers. Drivers that are committed to safety and are trained to achieve that goal. Before ever driving, Drivers receive thirty hours of classroom and on-the-road training. After that, they receive additional training on a yearly basis.

Drivers are also critical in teaching students safe riding habits. Without the cooperation of the students and their parents, a safe bus system would be difficult to achieve.

Another component of safe transportation is a safe fleet of buses. Our buses are inspected every year and have not received a "red tag" in 18 years. Our preventative maintenance program avoids unsafe conditions and costly repairs. Breakdowns on the road are very rare.

Another component of maintaining a safe fleet is a regular replacement schedule. Over the years, the Board has been very faithful in replacing one or two buses every year.

While our primary goal is safe transportation, one of the results of a well-maintained, up-to-date fleet and a well-trained conscientious workforce is an efficient operation. While the Department of Education has not published statistics in several years, the last time they did, we ranked in the top 10% in cost-per-student/mile efficiency.

I think you have a Transportation Department you can be proud of!

RICHARD J. BRONDSEMA