NAFIS spokesperson Bryan Jernigan said schools reported they are cutting positions, postponing facility repairs and curtailing music and sports programs. In last year's survey, 36 percent of school districts said they had budgeted the sequester cut into the 2012-2013 school year. The top areas for reduction were: defer maintenance and technology purchases (64 percent); eliminate non-instructional staff (54 percent); increase class sizes (46 percent); eliminate instructional staff (44 percent); and reduce professional development (35 percent).

"Other areas of reduction include academic programs, extra-curricular activities and summer programs, and transportation routes," the report stated.

Approximately 1,400 school districts serving some 11 million children nationwide, including 376,500 students from military families, benefit from Impact Aid, according to NAFIS.

In Flagstaff, Ariz., schools in Indian Country are facing staff layoffs as well as a reduction in school bus service. Tuba City USD Transportation Director Orson Bigman told public station KRWG he has to drive six miles over sand dunes and rocks to reach two students at a remote bus stop. If it’s raining and the road is washed out, he might not make it there at all.

In this part of Indian Country, he noted, a school bus that should last the district 10 years lasts half that long. The likelihood of getting enough funding to purchase even one new school bus next year is slim, in his mind.

School Superintendent Harold Begay said he would like to take a few members of Congress on a bus ride over this rough terrain so they can see what it is like for their students, not to mention the drivers.

Superintendent Keith McVay of the McLaughlin School District in South Dakota, which serves a large number of American Indian students, said they no longer have the resources to offer summer school or provide bus service to transport students home after sports practice — even though some kids live 20 miles away or more.

Central Union School District in Lemoore, Calif., became the latest school system serving military families to suffer budget casualties. Besides losing a school counselor, the district has eliminated technology programs and stopped filling vacant positions.

In Yermo, Calif., Silver Valley Schools Superintendent Marc Jackson emphasized that schools near military bases survive on Impact Aid. Because of sequestration, his district has taken a half-million-dollar hit. He said he may need to cut school bus service, teacher training and school counselors.

“You should have excellent schools for our military that has done so much for us, and to cut them is just callous,” Jackson added.

In San Antonio, Texas, Randolph Field ISD officials counted on receiving $5.3 million (or 45 percent of its budget) in Impact Aid but now expect $1 million less. The district educates about 1,200 students from military families at the local Air Force base.

Cumberland County (N.C.) Schools Superintendent Dr. Frank Till said his district, which includes Fort Bragg, stands to lose over $3 million in federal dollars next year while also facing major state cutbacks. More than 60 percent of the school district’s budget comes from the state.

“We'll have to completely eliminate schools from service and certainly have to cut back on staffing,” said Till. “We'll have to cut back services to some of our most disadvantaged kids.”

The group’s page — www.facebook.com/NASDPTS — is intended for association members, vendors, parents, students and other important stakeholders.

“Social media such as Facebook proves to be one of the best and quickest ways to communicate industry initiatives and ideas, as well as just staying in touch,” said Max Christensen, president of NASDPTS and state director of student transportation in Iowa.

He added: “The NASDPTS Board of Directors wants to be a leader in communication, sharing of ideas, showing a proactive approach to industry concerns and problems, as well as partnering with other industry leaders in promoting safe transportation for all school children.”

Dr. Fred Navarro, who was a school bus driver himself decades ago, was the inaugural passenger for the event, set to take place three to four times a year. Each time, the district plans to invite community members from the education, political and entertainment arenas, said Pete Meslin, director of transportation.

“They will get to share the experience of riding a Newport-Mesa school bus just like the approximately 5,000 students bussed to and from school each day,” he added.

Meslin noted that  part of the program’s goal is to make community members realize that student transporters are also educators. Particularly with school bus drivers, they are the first district representative a student interacts with in the morning, and the last one at the end of the school day.

Newport-Mesa Unified serves approximately 21,000 students, said Jeanne Briggs, administrative assistant to Meslin. She added that this type of event would give the guest community member a glimpse into the positive interaction school bus drivers have with their student passengers.

The ride-along event began around 6 a.m. Navarro showed up when all district bus drivers were conducting their pre-trip inspections. He had to mirror what his assigned driver, Daniel Cutenese, was doing in performing his safety checks before transporting students to three elementary schools.

When the school bus returned to the bus yard, Navarro said he said he still remembered some of those safety checks from when he was a bus driver in Southern California. 

“It may have been 30 or 40 years ago, but I remember,” he said, and commended Cutenese for knowing the names of all the students on his bus and for performing his job with professionalism.

On behalf of the department, Meslin thanked Navarro by presenting him with a Very Important Passenger certificate at the end of the ride-along, along with a special T-shirt and baseball cap. 

The choking incident occurred two days before, when Brake, a spare driver that day, was driving students to Primrose Elementary School in Mulmur, Ontario, Canada.

Jill Mather, site supervisor of Stock’s Orangeville, Ontario, facility, said Brake had completed her first aid course three weeks prior to the incident.

After asking the girl a few questions, Brake realized she was choking. Brake removed the girl from the bus and performed the Heimlich maneuver on her three times. Once the food was dislodged and the girl could breathe freely, Brake proceeded to help her relax and to also calm the other worried students on the bus.

The extensive training paid dividends for Brake and the choking girl. The girl’s mother thanked Brake with flowers and shared an emotional moment with her.

“Sarah is a shining example of how bus driver training can save lives,” said Mather. “It’s all about knowing what to do, and then quickly doing it while staying calm and in control. Sarah could not have handled that stressful situation any better.”

Stock Transportation is a sister company to Durham School Services. Both companies, as well as Petermann Bus, make up National Express Corporation.

S.5122 establishes the crime of criminal trespass on a school bus, school grounds or children’s camp, following the lead of a similar bill in Alabama. Tragedy struck that Southern state in late January when an irate gunman boarded a school bus and demanded two child hostages, eventually shooting the bus driver and escaping with one boy, who was held hostage for a week before authorities rescued him and took down the perpetrator.

In response to mounting concerns over illegal passing, or “stop arm,” violations that put schoolchildren at risk daily, senators have crafted two bills designed to catch and prosecute offenders more effectively (S.5028) and to toughen penalties so repeat offenders lose their driver's licenses (S.1878). The latter measure allows for a 60-day suspension of an individual’s driver's license when the holder is convicted two or more times of passing a stopped school bus within a period of 10 years.

Known as the School Bus Camera Safety Act, S. 5028 would enable school districts and school bus contractors to install cameras on buses to catch on camera motorists who fail to stop when a yellow bus comes to a halt with its stop arm extended. Images of offenders’ vehicles and license plates would be used to issue a summons to the registered owners of the vehicle. It also authorizes school districts to receive state aid for the purchase of such cameras.

In addition, S.5028 also makes it a crime of (a) aggravated assault when a motorist injures another individual as a result of illegally passing a stopped school bus, (b) criminally negligent homicide, a class E felony, when a motorist kills another individual as a result of illegally passing a stopped school bus and (c) third-degree assault, also a class E Felony, if an illegal passer causes injury to another person, per bill text.

"The number of school buses that are passed illegally each day is startling," said bill sponsor Sen. Catharine Young. "Far too often these drivers are never caught for committing such a dangerous violation and students are continually put in harm's way. This bill would bring these drivers to justice.”

Sponsored by Sen. Jack Martins, S.1519 prohibits a registered sex offender from obtaining or renewing a commercial drivers license to operate a passenger or school bus, providing a greater level of protection to those in contact with bus drivers.

“The safety of children is paramount and we’ve committed to student safety in the New York State Senate. These are further measures of protection. When parents put their children on a school bus, they should be confident that their child is safe,” Martins said in a statement.

Also receiving NYAPT’s support is S.5503, which would further strengthen requirements related to drug and alcohol testing of school bus drivers.

“There are thousands of good solid drivers out there and we need to ensure that their good name is protected,” NYAPT announced on Facebook May 16. ”We support S.5503, just today introduced by Sen. Fuschillo, that will tighten up on testing, increase the number of drivers tested and take steps to protect our children...we had four DWI arrests last fall.”