The Montezuma-Cortez School District Re-1 transportation department will have a surplus of bus drivers for the 2012-13 school year.
Lena Galloway, transportation coordinator for Re-1, said the district will have 27 bus drivers for 19 routes. That means eight drivers will be on stand-by in case another driver is unavailable.
Last year, the district had 23 bus drivers for 20 routes, and currently Galloway is training four bus drivers with the hope that they will be ready by the start of the school year, which begins in about three weeks.
Galloway said she combined two smaller bus routes from last year into one for the upcoming school year.
Since the end of the school year the transportation department had two drivers resign and another two gave up their routes to become alternates.
The transportation department for Re-1 received six bus driver applications this summer and three of them were admitted to the training program after Galloway observed their bus driving skills.
The fourth new bus driver was already involved in the transportation department.
Part of the training includes watching safety videos that demonstrate how to drive on different road surfaces as well as ways to handle students while operating a 40-foot bus.
Galloway said one thing the new drivers will have to learn, if they do not already know, are the locations of each of the schools and where the buses are allowed to park at the schools.
She also said while driving students to and from school is the most important part of the job, there are things that must be done before taking the bus off the lot.
Bus drivers, she said, are required to do pre-trips to make sure everything is in good working condition, and they must prove to Galloway that they have this part of the job down pat.
Its very important to me, she said, adding that applicants in the program need to practice the pre-trips on their own.
To become a bus driver, an applicant will also have to pass a written test and take a driving test in Durango that includes maneuvering around an obstacle course.
They have to prove to me that they can go out and drive that bus according to the CDL (Commercial Drivers License program), she said, and added the Colorado Department of Education written exam on the rules and regulations is a requirement every driver is mandated to take every year.
The training coordinator said a lot goes into becoming a bus driver and added it is not as easy as it may seem.
Its a tough job, and it takes a tough and caring person to be a bus driver, she said. I personally think this will be a wonderful year for the transportation department. We have safe drivers that will take care of our students this school year.
michaelm@cortezjournal.com