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School transportation department keeps students moving
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .A mechanic's work is never done. In the transportation department's garage, the technicians are always working to keep Austintown buses in tip-top shape.
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The transportation department's high tech bus lot, shown here, includes ample room for the vehicles and a diesel fueling station.
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Transportation supervisor Colleen Murphy spends many a hour at her organizing board, which keeps tabs on the certifications of her drivers and the bus routes they serivce.
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These are many of the friendly faces that Austintown students see in the driver's seat when the bus picks them up each school day.
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During the smooth dismissal of over 1300 students at Frank Ohl and Fitch High School, the Austintown buses stay in an unbroken line that allows the buses exit quickly and safely to bring Austintown students home.
By SARAH FOOR
Austintown transportation supervisor Colleen Murphy has a fleet of buses, thousands of gallons of diesel fuel and one of the toughest jobs in the school district.
“Most people think that the bus just picks you up and takes you to school, and that’s that. There’s actually a lot more to it,” she explained.
Murphy’s mornings start at 5 a.m. — or earlier in adverse weather — and end at 5 p.m. or later. She handles phone calls from parents, works with bus drivers and sees that bus repairs are made and that every child gets where they need to go safely.
She admits that many don’t see the intricate organization that is part of her job.
“There’s a science to planning bus routes each year. I get to see the ebb and flow of neighborhoods. Some neighborhoods are full of kids, and then those kids grow up. We have to understand the population to plan the route that services the most students in the least amount of time.”
Her ability to work quickly and cleanly is most clear as the students of Frank Ohl Intermediate and Fitch High School bus riders are released at 2:15 every day.
Twenty buses snake around both schools until every child is accounted for at 2:20 p.m. Then they exit in two unbroken lines, clearing 1,300 students in just seven minutes.
“We’re a great team,” she said as she watched the process one afternoon.
Murphy said she is a small part of Austintown’s transportation department. She discussed the ones who work on the frontlines every school day — the drivers.
“A good driver has to be patient, forgiving, observant and consistent. We have a lot of that here.”
Driver Debbie Mackey said a good driver needs “a great sense of humor and a lot of tissues.”
“When it comes down to it,” Murphy added, “the transportation department will always buckle down, pitch in and get it done.”