HOLLIS, N.H. (Sept. 3, 2008) — A male school bus driver wearing a sundress several times last spring may have upset some parents, but it was safety and security that led Hollis Transportation to develop it’s new uniform policy.

"We just need to know who everyone is," manager Nancy Orde said.

Orde said she had considered uniforms for sometime and had found that badges were not enough to identify drivers when they used campus facilities a the 2,700-student Hollis/Brookline School District in the south New Hampshire. Starting this fall, the contractor required all 37 drivers will wear a blue polo shirt with the company logo and either trousers or shorts.

District Superintendent Susan Hodgdon, who came to the district after the sundress incident, said she supports the uniform policy. In 30 years of working in schools, Hodgdon said she’d found uniforms and dress codes lent drivers and support personnel more respect from students.

So far, none of the drivers, including the driver involved in the dress incident, has complained about the change, Orde added.