Becker Public Schools officials say their transportation department is ready for the 2016-17 school year and with new and upgraded technology and systems — along with a new director — kids and parents can expect safe, reliable and efficient transportation for their young ones.

 

Director of Business Services Joe Prom —  entering his seventh year in the department and head supervisor — says even though the first week or so of the school year is always a hectic time for transportation, he feels he and his crew are readily prepared, organized and anxious to kick off the upcoming year.

 

“We are in a good spot and feel prepared and we ask parents to be patient with us as we iron out the kinks in the first week or so,” said Prom. “This department and our drivers have a lot of responsibility and accountability on their plates and we want things to go as smoothly as it can.”

 

Prom is responsible for oversite of Buildings and Grounds, Food Service and Transportation as well as all financial operations of the distr

ict including payroll, purchasing, accounts payable and accounts receivable.

Prom hired Tom Risley in July of 2015 to be the transportation director (following the retirement of Ken Abrahamson after nearly 39 years) and Risley’s impact was felt almost immediately. Risley came from the St. Cloud School District and has had a vision on how to make the bussing of kids to school and to activities that much smoother.

 

“Safety, of course, is huge and we are trying to be proactive in that area as much as we can,” said Risley. 

 

“We (transportation department) had a vision just the same as Tom’s,” said Prom. “We knew we wanted to take on some new routing procedures and Tom knew exactly how to get it implemented.”

 

Risley says about half of the fleet of buses is equipped with four cameras and microphones and all the buses this year will have GPS in them. The cameras assure the department they have audio and visual backup should a complaint or issue come up in a dispute on behavior and operation. The GPS will allow Risley and his crew to track where the buses are in real time, observe traffic delays and accidents and give recovery or law enforcement a direct location to where the bus is and what direction it is headed.

 

“That way if parents call in and wonder where the bus is or when it will arrive, we can view on screen exactly where the bus is and determine how long it is out from its destination and give a timeline,” said Risley.

 

The Becker transportation department has 27 buses in their fleet with 21 drivers and five substitute drivers. Each bus can accommodate up to 80 kids.

 

Risley has an assistant (Jody Springs) and his mechanic is Dean Moeller.

 

The drivers get paid anywhere from $30 to $49.50 per route. Route pay is based on a time limit of 1:45 minutes. For sports and activities, the drivers are paid $21 an hour.

 

Many of the drivers the transportation department hires are people who are looking for part-time work, are retired or just want to help the schools out in some way. Many stay on as drivers for many years and retain the same route for familiarity. 

 

Risley says the department is sometimes looking for new drivers but always looking for subs.

 

“That’s our biggest need is subs and the more we have the more stable the program is,” he said.

 

“Our drivers are phenomenal,” said Prom. “They are eager, friendly and always willing to help out.”

 

Bus routes are arranged according to geographic area and stops are assigned from one-to-two blocks of a student’s home whenever possible. State guidelines recommend that no student ride the bus more than one hour each way every day.

 

With kids graduating, some moving away and new kids entering the school system, the transportation department is constantly juggling their schedules and routes to accommodate students and families. They also have a van transportation system for children who have special needs or disabilities or in day treatment programs.

 

The transportation department provides all the training for a driver to get their Class B license. The instruction includes around 40 hours of teaching, time behind the wheel and a background check.

 

“Drivers need to have a clean driving record,” said Risley. “We also do pre-screening for drug and alcohol testing and have random drug testing as well.”

 

Risley says his department also works closely with the local law enforcement and the state patrol because laws are constantly changing and the transportation department has to adapt.