×

‘You have to really love kids’

By Erin E. O’Neill

The Marietta Times

eoneill@mariettatimes.com

According to the National Safety Council, some 25 million young people in the United States begin and end their school days on a big yellow bus.

It takes a special kind of person to transport these students to school safely every day. Not only do drivers need a special license — a commercial driver’s license or CDL — a background check and a safe driving record, he or she must also genuinely care about the children they are responsible for and have lots of patience.

“You have to really love the kids. This isn’t a job where you’re in it for the money,” laughed Sharon Deems, a bus driver for Marietta City Schools since 1995.

A typical school day for Deems starts between 4:30 and 5 a.m. Then her route for Bus 1 takes her all over Devola, to Marietta High School and Marietta Middle School. She transports students from preschool to high school and even some Washington County Career Center students.

“I have a great bunch of kids but I tell them, they have to follow my rules,” Deems said. “I work closely with my parents and a lot of them have my phone number and know they can call or text me if they need to.”

Some of the rules devised by the Ohio Department of Education include staying seated, no throwing or passing of objects, no tobacco use and no eating or drinking. However, Deems said she will usually allow water bottles at the beginning and end of the school year when the temperatures can be sweltering.

Having a rural route for Belpre City Schools, driver and mechanic Steve Snider said his students are generally well behaved with some having to ride for up to 35 minutes.

“There is some difference between kids in the city who see each other all the time and those on the rural route who might not see each other as often,” he said. “My basic rules are stay in your seat and keep your hands to yourself. I have my own kids and grandkids so I know that kids will be kids.”

One question Snider gets from parents is whether or not the younger and older students will be separated on the bus.

“I do typically put my older kids in the back and the younger ones up front. If there are siblings, I’ll let them ride together. But in Belpre we do have the K through 12 kids all together,” he said.

Janice Schaad, a 20-year driver for Wolf Creek Local Schools, transports students to St. John Central Grade School from Waterford Elementary and can be driving for two hours both ways.

“For the most part, my kids are really good,” she said. “As long as they stay seated, aren’t in the aisles and walking around…and it helps that we have assigned seats.”

Many school districts require parents to fill out information cards to remain on file with the transportation department. Deems said Marietta requires a new card to be filled out every year.

“A lot of the younger ones especially won’t know their basic contact information, so those cards are very important,” she said.

Belpre City Schools start back on Wednesday and Snider said they will do a test run on Tuesday to make sure everything runs smoothly for the first day back. While he can’t wait for more than 20 or 30 seconds, Snider said he typically looks for signs that the student is running late and he will sometimes have parents flag him down.

The biggest issue, on which both Snider and Deems agree, is other motorists who aren’t paying attention, don’t stop when the stop arm is out and genuinely don’t follow the state laws regarding school buses.

“We try not to have the kids cross in front of the bus if we can help it and we try not to stop on main streets because some motorists don’t realize they have to stop if there’s no median dividing us,” he said.

On a two-lane roadway, drivers traveling in both directions must stop for school buses. By law, drivers must remain stopped until the bus is in motion again or the bus driver signals that traffic can proceed.

On a road with four or more lanes, drivers on the opposite site of a stopped school bus do not need to stop. Only vehicles on the same side of the roadway are required to stop. That law is applicable in Ohio, but not in all other states. On roads with four or more lanes, Ohio law requires that school buses pick up students on the same side of the road that the passenger lives on.

A driver breaking these laws can face fines up to $500 and a temporarily suspended license.

Student bus safety

¯ Pupils shall arrive at the bus stop before the bus is scheduled to arrive.

¯ Pupils must wait in a location clear of traffic and away from the bus stops.

¯ Behavior at the school bus stop must not threaten life, limb or property of any individual.

¯ Pupils must go directly to an available or assigned seat so the bus may safely resume motion.

¯ Pupils must remain seated keeping aisles and exits clear.

¯ Pupils must observe classroom conduct and obey the driver promptly and respectfully.

¯ Pupils must not use profane language.

¯ Pupils must refrain from eating and drinking on the bus except as required for medical reasons.

¯ Pupils must not use tobacco on the bus.

¯ Pupils must not have alcohol or drugs in their possession on the bus except for prescription medication required for a student.

¯ Pupils must not throw or pass objects on, from or into the bus.

¯ Pupils may carry on the bus only objects that can be held in their laps.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.15/week.

Subscribe Today