Road testing
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on November 20, 2014 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Students from North Drive Elementary School board buses after the dismissal of class. Wayne County Public Schools had just enough buses to start the school year, said transportation director Robert Lee III. Because of breakdowns and other problems, this is the first week the school system has had enough buses to run all routes without having to double up, he said.
Just three months into the role, Wayne County Public Schools Transportation Director Robert Lee III finds himself tackling inspection safety scores and shortages of bus drivers and mechanics.
Poor safety scores, resulting in buses being pulled from the road and prompting repeat inspections from the state, have plagued the school system. In May, the former transportation director, Raymond Smith, was terminated because of the concerns.
When he took over, Lee also discovered that the district was also behind on its mandated in-house inspections requiring that each bus be inspected every 30 days.
"We're up to speed on our 30-day (inspections)," he said. "When I got here, we were really behind on the 30-day substantially. Right now, we're behind on preventive maintenance."
One challenge, Lee said, is having to pull buses off a route, even to do an oil change or to check the brakes. It is also time-consuming to provide a replacement vehicle and to use manpower to make the switch.
But people are not interested in excuses, he said. Especially when it comes to the safety of children.
"We're doing right now the very best job we can," he said. "We're going to be better. We're not there yet, but it's a continuous process. I think next year this time, we should be in high gear."
Lee said he is anticipating a visit from the state before the holiday break and is preparing for the next round of inspections.
In anticipation of that, the transportation director sent his route supervisors out on the roads this week to get firsthand looks at the buses in the county's fleet, he said.
"Every one has about 40 buses they're responsible for. They'll physically go out and check that list -- simple things like a fire extinguisher, if it doesn't have a first aid kit, tires, general things.
"We're prepping now for that inspection so we can do the little things to assist the bus drivers because the mechanic is only required to drive that bus once every 30 days. But the bus driver drives it every day."
Part of the problem in the department has been with maintenance personnel shifts.
"Wayne County has some turnover with mechanics. I think that kind of put them behind. When you don't have people to turn wrenches for whatever reason, that can affect you negatively," Lee said. "We're almost up to staff. I think right now we're right at 12. I think we actually have 14 slots."
He said he is currently interviewing and hopes to fill the open positions shortly.
Safety issues and insufficient bus drivers also complicate the equation.
"When school started, we had just enough buses to start school," Lee said. "On paper, we have enough. But we had buses break down; we had buses running double routes. This is the first week we have had enough buses.
"There are so many moving pieces. On top of the 223 school buses counting the spares, we have 40-some activity buses. We maintain those, too. Then we maintain Wee Wings buses and do a little with driver's ed and things like that."
Dealing with budgetary constraints means new buses cannot be purchased as often, so maintaining the existing fleet is even more imperative.
"We haven't bought an activity bus since 2004. We've got some (school buses) from 1980 or so," Lee said. "We have got a wish list like everybody. But we have to be realistic. We know we'll get what we need when the time is right.
"My best guess is next summer, July or August, after I've been here a year, I think we'll be in a lot better shape. It takes time. We didn't get where we are overnight."
Supplanting the pool of drivers is a universal issue for school districts.
To offset some of that, the district is offering a new training in December when schools are dismissed for the holiday, in hopes that staff will get credentials so they will be able to fill in as needed.
"What you get is a bus driver who's already at school, already comes out to deal with children, somebody you can depend on," he said.
Offering free training, however, does not necessarily replenish the pool.
"DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) trained 37 bus drivers (recently), 34 completed all the training," Lee said. "Do you know how many applied to be bus drivers (with WCPS)? Five."
Too many have taken advantage of the option to get that commercial driver's license, only to use it as leverage for a higher-paying job elsewhere.
"DMV is actually studying that," Lee said. "We don't have the number of people that we would like to apply for that job. It's a part-time job. Our most likely candidate is somebody that's retired."
In addition to not being able to provide benefits for bus drivers, some of the standards for the job will soon be changing, the director said.
"Starting in January, there are basic things bus drivers are going to have to do," he said, including having a physical, having quick reflexes and not having "any parts of that person to interfere with the steering wheel."
"It may raise the bar a little bit," he said. "It's possible we might lose a bus driver. But in the event of an accident, that bus driver needs to be able to help those students."