Just southeast of Kansas City, Lee’s Summit School District spans 117 square miles serving nearly 19,000 students, with 14,000 utilizing school transportation services on a daily basis. The district accommodates anywhere from 5,000 to 6,000 field trips and sporting events a year, covering approximately 2 million miles, and operating with a staff of just 220, […]

Essential workers. The news media and politicians talk about them all the time, speaking in almost reverent terms about vitally essential workers: EMTs, fire fighters, nurses, nurse aides, teachers, and restaurant workers. And yet, there is rarely a mention of school bus drivers when ‘essential workers’ are invoked. In 1970, singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell wrote the […]

As we reflect on COVID-19 and its impacts on the transportation community, two lessons emerge: first – the growing need for digital equity, and second – the dedication of the transportation community to supporting students regardless of the challenges.   While digital equity has been an issue for decades, the disparity has never been so […]

In my past few columns, I have written about the challenges transportation directors are likely to face over the next 12 to 18 months. These included continuing to respond to the pandemic through the 2021 school year, and the emerging budget challenges that districts will begin having to address. Add the fact that it is […]