Columbiana superintendent and Joshua Dixon Elementary School principal add bus driving to their resume | News, Sports, Jobs
Driving instructor Becky Rupert (left) watches as Columbiana Schools Superintendent Don Mook performs part of the pre-inspection of bus brakes during training Tuesday. Mook is getting his certification to serve the district as a substitute bus driver. (Photo by Stephanie Ujhelyi)
COLUMBIANA – Administrators at the Columbiana Exempted Village School District have new skills to draw on this school year.
District School Superintendent Don Mook and Joshua Dixon Elementary School Principal Kim Sharshan add bus driver jobs to their resumes.
Both are currently being taught by on-board instructor Becky Rupert so that they can be used as substitute bus drivers if needed.
Two of the district’s bus drivers, who Mook said normally work four hours a day, were interested in a few extra hours, so one would double as a janitor in his free time and the second would work as a cook in the cafeteria.
“It helps because these special employees needed extra hours,” he explained.
If these employees work more than 40 hours, they receive a mixed wage.
Mook confirmed that this is more beneficial for the employee than for the district, but none of the part-time positions, which include bus driving, are intended as life-sustaining measures.
Opportunities like this actually help the cause because they improve recruitment and retention at a time when so many districts are desperate to find bus drivers when school starts.
Mook and Sharshan’s situation is a little different. They are getting the new license to meet a district need. Columbiana High School Principal Jeff Jackson and Southside Middle School Principal Jason Martin are expected to follow suit in September.
To become certified, administrators must pass a 12-hour test, complete 15 hours of on-board instruction and a physical and vision exam, Mook said. They must also pass a CDL exam and recertify with the Ohio Highway Patrol every six years to keep their certification valid.
“If you can’t bend over, that’s a problem because then you won’t get a certificate.” added Mook.
Part of the process is to ensure that all components of the bus are in working order. This requires being able to lift the hood, familiarize yourself with it, and bend down to perform this part of the pre-operation vehicle inspection.
Mook and Sharshan trained with Rupert on Tuesday afternoon in the bus garage that was built years ago at the back of the main campus.
The fleet is relatively new and in good condition, and Mook said it was reduced to seven routes this year thanks to transportation coordinator Leslie Best and her software.
Buses typically cost $80,000 to $100,000 each, and this garage, unlike the one that used to be at the elementary school, houses the entire fleet.
The Dixon garage only had space for one bus, so most drivers had to leave their vehicles at home.
Rupert has decades of experience training bus drivers not only in Columbiana, but also in Leetonia, Crestview and East Palestine, to name a few counties.
She said the experience of teaching the two Columbiana administrators was a little different because of their approach to the material.
“(Mook and Sharshan) are professional learners. They know how to learn and are very eager participants.” added Rupert.
Usually, bus driving is a supplementary income. Farmers drive buses, but their main income comes from their farm; wives drive buses, but usually as a supplement to their husband’s full-time income; retirees give up their full-time jobs and choose to drive buses because it simply provides them with enough employment.
