Page 4 - Leadership Matters March 2013 issue.pub

4
Transportation & Education winning
combination in Jasper County district
By Michael Chamness
IASA Director of
Communications
The biggest educational
tool in Jasper County just
might be the yellow school
bus.
Measuring 462 square
miles, Jasper County
Community Unit District 1
covers more ground than any
school district in Illinois.
Working parents in the rural
southeastern Illinois
communities that make up the
district depend on the school
buses to transport their
children safely to and from
school. Now factor in the
state’s 42 percent cut in
transportation funding for a
district in which the buses
travel more than 625,000 miles a school year.
Against that backdrop, Jasper County
Superintendent Dan Cox fully understands the
importance not only of keeping the buses running on
time, but keeping them running period.
“The parents here are as emotionally attached to
our bus drivers as they are our teachers,” Cox said.
“They are the first people they see in the morning and
the last people they see when they get off the bus. If
the bus ride doesn’t go well, in a lot of ways the whole
school day can be shot.”
The district has some 1,400 pre-K through 12th-
grade students, and 77 percent of them ride the bus.
The average ride is one hour, with the longest route
being about 1 hour, 15 minutes. Those times reflect a
15-minute reduction thanks to extensive planning
efforts by Cox and Chris Parr, the district’s
transportation director.
“Our goal is to pick the kids up as close to 7 a.m.
as we can,” said Parr, noting that the bus pickup time
used to be 6:45 a.m. “We believe the more sleep they
get, the better they can perform as students.”
Newton Elementary School, one of the four schools
that compose the Jasper County district, is a national
Blue Ribbon School, and the other three schools (Saint
Marie Elementary, Jasper County Junior High and
Newton High School) also are academic award-
winners.
It might sound odd to some for a transportation
director to be discussing student performance, but Cox
has made Parr a full member of his leadership team.
“Transportation plays such a big role in our district
that we make sure Chris is at all of our administrative
meetings,” said Cox, who is in his third school district.
“He sees things differently than we do, and I think it
also has helped him think like an educator.”
Parr agreed that the regular interaction with school
administrators is vitally important.
“Being in the loop is a very big deal. It’s not a case
of ‘that’s your problem.’ We understand that we’re in it
together,” said Parr, who has been with the district 13
years, the first 10 as fleet supervisor before being
named transportation director when Cox became
superintendent. This year, Cox also added the
buildings and grounds department to Parr’s duties as
part of a streamlining process, but also in recognition
of the job he has done with transportation.
Despite all of the challenges – including the loss of
about $1.5 million in state funding the past three years
– the Jasper County District has an excellent safety
record with only one fender-bender and no injuries the
past three years while shaving 15 minutes off the time
of their longest routes. The staff of bus drivers is
remarkably stable, with 17 of the 24 drivers having
been there at least 13 years.
The drivers also do more than drive. They have in-
service days where they received training on issues
like bullying, dealing with autistic students and honing
(Continued on page 5)
With 462 square miles to cover, Jasper County Superintendent Dan Cox
understands the importance of transportation.