Kentucky School Advocate
October 2023
In Conversation With features an interview between a leader or figure in public education and a representative of the Kentucky School Advocate.
Erin Eagleson is director of transportation for Trigg County Schools. He has been an educator for 22 years in his home county, serving as a teacher, coach and assistant principal before stepping into his current role four years ago. He’s driven school buses as a coach and also when the district needed sub drivers, which has given him a hands-on understanding of the job.
Q. What is the biggest challenge facing school transportation this school year?
A. In talking to other transportation directors and from what you see in the media, it’s recruiting and keeping good drivers. Trigg County’s been in a good place for a while as far as keeping drivers on routes. I’m knocking on wood. This is my fourth full year as transportation director, and so far we’ve been fully staffed the whole time.
Q. What are some ways your district has kept its staffing at needed levels? What are some of your strategies?
Trigg County Transportation Director Erin Eagleson (second from left) credits his team for making transportation run smoothly in the county, including driver trainer Dawn Butler (far left), clerk, dispatcher and driver trainer Carol Black (third from left), garage foreman Gary Jenkins (second from right) and technician and driver trainer Bill Cocomise, (far right). Photo provided
A.
When I came in, I noticed we weren’t very efficient in our routing. Rather than invest tens of thousands of dollars in routing software, my driver trainers and I sat down and looked at how we could be more efficient and eliminate a route. By doing that I gained another permanent sub position. We have 24 regular routes, three special needs routes and six preschool routes.
I try to give new drivers and sub drivers as much support as they need. I was a sub driver at times (I’ve had my CDL about 20 years), and I remember they would say, ‘Here’s the keys, here are some directions.’ You were out there winging it. On my staff, I have three permanent subs who have driven almost every route. When I have a new driver, I have those permanent subs drive the route and have the new driver ride with them. It lets the new driver get to know the kids and become familiar with the route. If the new driver is ready on day two, they get in the saddle and drive and the same permanent sub rides with them. Some drivers drive several days with a permanent sub then they take off. Some need a little more support. We try to meet people where they are.
Also, when someone interviews to be a bus monitor, I ask them if they’d ever be interested in training and getting their CDL so they could drive. I’ve gotten a lot of full-time drivers that way. After they get comfortable on the bus as a monitor, they realize there is no reason they couldn’t drive. And drivers make more money.
Q. The state funds about 70% of the actual costs of transportation instead of the 100% required by law. How does that impact your district?
A. We want to keep a safe fleet of buses running. When I started, we had a lot of older buses so I knew I was going to need to ask for new ones. As a director, I don’t think you should ask for something if you can’t bring something to the table. So, I found out about and applied for Clean Diesel grants and now the Electric School Bus grant and we received them. When you go to the table with your finance director and say, ‘Hey, I’ve got 25% of the cost of new buses through the Clean Diesel grant,’ then there’s more support for getting new buses. We’ve been doing two buses a year and recently got approved for the electric bus grant so we should have five electric buses coming next summer.
Q. You’ve done a lot of research on electric buses and talked to other districts. What have you learned as far as advantages and disadvantages?
A. Before we pulled the trigger, we talked to our local electric company about what it would cost to run five buses a day. The original number was high but then the (Tennessee Valley Authority) TVA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the local electric company and our district leaders all got involved in the conversation. We are now going to have our chargers programmed so that buses will be charged during off-peak hours and we will get a lower rate.
On one charge, a driver of an electric bus should be able to run their morning and afternoon routes before they need to recharge. We’re told the buses will do about 150 miles, but I’m making sure none of these routes is longer than 100 miles. These buses are the same as the Thomas C-2 72-passenger buses we use now. We drove a demo bus around the county to see how it operated. I talked to a district in Virginia with 20 or 30 electric buses and they love them for the most part because they are cheaper to operate; maintenance is just brakes, tires and the monthly bus inspection. They had a problem with programming the charger, but after that was fixed, everything’s been smooth sailing.
Q. You mentioned routing software earlier. Some districts are using that technology to make their routes more efficient. Do you think it will become more widespread?
A. Probably in other districts, especially large ones, but it won’t here. It looks wonderful, but the cost blew my mind. I couldn’t take that recommendation to the board. They pay me to do a job, and I have driver trainers to assist me. Every year, once everything gets rolling and routes are pretty much finalized, we come together and start moving kids and roads around to other routes to make it more efficient. Are we as efficient as we could be? I don’t know, but I think we’re pretty good. A lot of times, we bring in the drivers and say, ‘How could we improve on what we’re doing?’
Q. Some districts have added stop arm cameras to school buses. How do these cameras help improve the safety of students?
A. When we order new buses, we order them with a stop arm camera. When those stop arms are out, the camera is activated when a car goes through the stop arm. On the video, you can see the vehicle coming and going because it’s a dual stop-arm camera. The bus driver contacts me and gives a description of the vehicle and sometimes they also get the license plate number and a description of the driver. I call it in to law enforcement. We have used it a few times, but not many. In a small district, word spreads, and once one or two drivers get cited, it gets a lot better. I can pull the footage if law enforcement wants to see the video.
Q. Your department has its own Facebook page. Why is it important for your transportation department to communicate directly with families and the community?
A. We can post updates about school closings or if a route is going to be potentially delayed because of construction. We also use it to recruit new drivers. This year, we’ve been recognizing a student of the month on every route. Our drivers are also good about communicating with the families on their routes. Some of them use the free app Remind; they can set up a group text and send a message to all the families, and let them know, for example, that the bus is running a little late. They message before they start their route; they aren’t allowed to use it while they are driving.
Q. How do you think Kentucky school board members can better support their transportation departments in their district?
A. My board has shown tremendous support. I bring recommendations and they support them. But again, when I come to the table, I’m just not coming with an open hand. I’m going to do my due diligence to ensure I haven’t left any stone unturned. Yes, I’m going to be asking for things, but on the same side, I’m working to see if there’s money out there available to help.