MOUNT VERNON — For various reasons, some school districts enter into contracts with bus companies to provide both drivers and buses to transport children to school. In Knox County, all school bus drivers are employees of the various school districts, and, according to Judy Moore, transportation coordinator for Fredericktown Local Schools, that can make a difference in the dedication of the drivers.
In a small district like Fredericktown, Moore said, “everyone knows everyone,” and driving a school bus is more than just a job.
“We do more than just drop them off and go,” she said. “We take care of them like they’re our own children or grandchildren. We know the kids and in many cases we know the parents.”
All school bus drivers in Knox County go through similar training and background checks before they are allowed to transport children. The Knox County Educational Service Center serves as a sort of clearing house for the county schools, and Superintendent Dave Southward said the KCESC board does not approve drivers until they pass a physical and a background check conducted by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification. He said all potential drivers have fingerprints taken for the Ohio BCI check, unless they have lived out of state for the previous five years, in which case an FBI check is requested.
East Knox transportation coordinator Kathy Hathaway said all bus drivers on East Knox’s 13 bus routes have commercial driver’s licenses with the passenger and school bus endorsement, and are licensed by the Department of Education, as are all county drivers, including substitute bus drivers.
The bus driver certificates, Moore said, are on file with the Ohio Department of Education in Columbus, where they are strictly monitored.
New drivers, Hathaway said, complete 20 hours of classroom training and at least 12 hours on bus training. They are also required to have a pre-employment drug test, FBI background check, tuberculosis test and a driving abstract review. A driving abstract, going back three years, reports if an individual has any traffic violations, suspensions and other details about a person’s driving history.
Al Haschak, director of business, said Mount Vernon bus drivers, too, complete a driving training class, then pass a written and driving test with a state examiner. They are also subject to BCI checks and vehicle abstract checks.
Hathaway said all veteran East Knox drivers have to complete a re-certification process every six years and participate in a minimum of four hours of countywide inservice training every year. All Knox County school bus drivers are also subject to a monthly random drug/alcohol screen at Mid Ohio Corporate Care, as are Mount Vernon City Schools drivers, and must pass a yearly physical examination and driving abstract review.
Hathaway said East Knox currently uses DataFaxOhio, which is an online driving abstract company, to check drivers’ records, and the reports are returned to the district in minutes.
Both Southward and Hathaway said they are not informed by the courts when an already approved driver gets a ticket for a moving violation. The drivers are required by the school districts to turn in any moving violation within 24 hours, but there is currently no official way to monitor compliance. Southward said even if a driver’s license is revoked for a DUI conviction, districts do not officially find out about it from the state or the courts. He said it’s usually the driver who comes in and tells the district his or her license has been suspended. The state or the courts also do not notify school districts of a driver’s felony conviction if posted after a “clean record” check. The next annual driving abstract review should reveal the information.
Personal driving records are available through the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles as well as the Mount Vernon Municipal Court. Driving abstracts requested through the OBMV must be accompanied by notarized, written permission from the person being investigated, along with the appropriate fee.