By Julie Metea,
Special to School Transportation News
HAVERSTRAW, N.Y. - Lenny Bernstein didn't need to move out of his small hometown to become one of the most influential people in the school transportation industry. With local experience and national support, Bernstein becomes the newest president of the National Association for Pupil Transportation this fall.
Some duties will change his daily routine, but much will remain the same as he continues to serve as transportation director for Haverstraw-Stony Point Central Schoo l District. Bernstein's department will bus 9,600 students twice a day this school year in the diverse country community, about an hour drive north of New York City.
When he takes the reins at NAPT, he said he intends to follow the organization's mission, but with ambitious plans to engage members and raise awareness of pressing issues facing school transportation.
On the Bus Rounds
During a visit with School Transportation News on Sept. 22, Bernstein acted as host as he performed his normal rounds managing the district's K-12 transportation.
We started in the smoke-filled office at Haverstraw Transit, the district's 53-year-old family-owned bus contractor. Bernstein, his assistant Teresa Samuels and Haverstraw's Traffic Manager Mary Ellen Tiner were trying to figure out how to separate two boys who continually pick on each other. With nothing more than a pencil and pad, they mapped a few routes and called the parents with their edict.
"We work out these things like a family. That's how we get things done here," said Bernstein.
This small commuter town in Rockland County shares the same issues facing the others around the nation, including a growing student base, rising operating costs and a stagnant budget. They effectively utilize their thinning resources and recruit others when the day goes beyond routine.
"He gets them home safely. When challenges arise, he helps solve the problems with a calm demeanor. He defuses it," said Dr. Brian Monahan, deputy superintendent.
On September 11, the school district was fully locked down, and the community mobilized in emergency mode to protect its citizens and locate parents who worked in New York City. As the district's emergency plan director, Bernstein made sure someone was home before school buses dropped off students. However, many parents never made it home.
"We lost several parents and firefighters in the 911 attack. We were called upon to donate the buses for shuttling people to and from funerals for firefighters," said Bernstein, who keeps an even demeanor on the topic .
Growing Up with Education
Bernstein never strayed far from the education industry. It's been a family tradition. His parents, Howard and Isabelle, both served on the Tri-Valley, N.Y., Central School Board, where the younger Bernstein went to school and still lives. His wife Sandy is an art teacher and Bernstein himself is the current school board president.
"Lenny's fair. When it comes to making a tough decision, he can make the call. And he's respected for that," said Tri-Valley Central School superintendent Nancy George, who has known Bernstein for more than three decades.
After earning his associates degree from Hudson Valley Community College in 1979,  he followed his family's footsteps and worked for the Tri-Valley schools. It wasn't long before he traded in his cafeteria job there to become the district's transportation director. To this day he continues to take an active role in the district as parent and school board leader.
A few years later, he got his second position as transportation director in Ellenville, N.Y., where he managed larger operations and the emergency plan. Finally, he accepted his current role as transportation director job in Havershaw, where he has commuted two hours a day for the past 10 years.
"He is very good at what he does and sometimes that means he needs to spend extra time at it," said Sandy, who with Lenny has two teenage sons. "Being in the school system, I understand that if the students are not brought to school, I can't teach them. When they arrive after a positive experience on the bus, the day goes much better."
In 2000, NAPT hosted its annual conference in Buffalo and, by then, Bernstein was already active in the New York Association of Pupil Transportation (NYAPT). That conference exposed him to the national potential of helping the school transportation industry.
"That's when I got the bug. I said, 'One day, when I've reached my goals at NYAPT, I'm going to do this,'" said Bernstein.
He helped NYAPT lobby for 20 pieces of legislation. Several of them passed into state law, including rooftop strobe lights and bus driver training funds. He then joined the national organization and by 2003 Bernstein was president-elect.
Missions at NAPT
NAPT, headquartered in Albany, was founded in the early 1970s as membership association. With more than 2,000 members, it is the industry's largest and most diverse school transportation organization.
NAPT aims to support the industry, which transports more than 24 million children twice every school day. The non-profit group researches issues, communicates positions, educates through annual conferences and events, and influences local, state and federal governments. They also serve as a public voice to the media on pupil transportation issues.
Other school organizations, such as the National School Transportation Association (NSTA) and National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Service (NASDPTS) share the same missions. NAPT meets with them regularly to share thoughts and advocate issues before the public and Congress.
In the last decade, NAPT also aggressively moved into training and education for its members. The association has certification programs for transportation management and bus drivers.
As a member of the organization, Bernstein helped build the strategic plan. When he assumes the presidency this month, he says he'll begin to change some of the organization's tactics to meet the goals.
"The main thing is to take account of where we are and find where (the strategic plan) doesn't match," he said. "The core is there. The foundation is a lighting rod. We'll take the good stuff and go from there."
He feels the industry's biggest concerns are clean fuel, seat belts, rising gas prices and national security. As for the state of the industry, he recognizes that funding for transportation is tight at the local, state and federal levels.
Utilizing his family-style leadership, Bernstein says he wants to better inform NAPT's membership with technology tools. He aims to empower and mobilize them to rally around issues and become a stronger voice to government. During his unpaid, two-year term, he says he'll equip members with information, training and encouragement to act on a grass roots level.
"I want to be a strong leader. Good leaders use all of their resources. They do up-front work with technology and then go face-to-face," explained Bernstein, who himself studies famous leaders and names President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as his most inspiring example.
"I want them to act and react with me. Join what we're doing. Become part of the family," he says. "I love this association and the opportunity to lead it is beyond belief."
Juggling it All
Bernstein has already secured the support he needs to run a national organization, local school transportation department, local school board and a family.
"With a different employee, we would have been concerned (about the multi-roles). He manages his priorities. We're confident that he can handle it," said Monahan. "We welcome the attention, because it reflects on our district. Transportation is the area where we get good marks and excellent service. We pass budgets every year, as a result of a well managed system."
At home, Bernstein's family is geared to support his additional duties. "We accomplish our goals together. We support each other in our interests and accomplishments," said his wife Sandy. "I think one of the things that make us work: I married my best friend 21 years ago and we are still best friends."
With a palm pilot, cell phone and abundance of determination, Bernstein himself is ready to juggle it all.
"Family is the single most important thing. No matter where you are, you need to be part of something and feel like you belong," he said.
"I love what I do. I'm serious about what I do."
Source: School Transportation News, November 2005. All rights reserved.
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