School Bus Transportation News at STN Media

Who is Your School Bus Mechanic?

By Ryan Gray | Senior Editor

Much has been bandied about lately regarding the new "S" endorsement on commercial driver's licenses for school bus drivers. All mechanics who drive a school bus are required per 49 CFR Part 383 to have the said "S" endorsement on their CDL, regardless if they are transporting passengers or not. This includes test drives following repair work.

But little else in the way of national standards trickles down to mechanics. While the federal government says it is vital that drivers all share the same core competencies, it doesn't hold to the same standards those people behind the scenes who ensure that the mechanical safety record of school buses remains intact.

But more federal intervention is "the last thing" the industry wants to see happen.

"The feds caused too much of a rigmarole with the CDL," said Bruce Little, Sr., a transportation consultant with the Colorado Department of Education. "It needs to be on the state level. Just like the annual inspection is at the state level. One drawback is you don't have uniformity across the country."

Part of the exemplary safety record of school buses must be attributed to the mechanics who service them. So it certainly surprised me to hear that as few as two states - Michigan and Utah - require their mechanics, or service technicians, to receive formal school bus training. Most states leave the matter up to local districts, a slippery slope when transporting some 24 million students on approximately 500,000 school buses nationwide.

The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, the nation's largest and most widely-recognized mechanic testing organization, said that California, Michigan, and Dade and Broward counties in Florida are among those that currently require all auto repair shops to be licensed. Spokesman Tony Molla said this means that shops in these areas are only required to exhibit the "lowest common denominator" of maintenance expertise by passing a minimum skills test. With legislation pending, Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, and Texas aren't far behind.

Instills confidence, doesn't it?

Meanwhile, mechanics who work on school buses, vans, utility trucks, et al, are oft immune from meeting such criteria, said Dale Goby, executive director of the Office of Student Transportation for Detroit Public Schools.

"If that mechanic is working in the local school operation maintaining school buses transporting our nations most precious cargo, they are currently only required to be certified if it is dictated by school district policy," he said.

That school district vehicle maintenance - much like the yellow school buses themselves - is taken for granted in the grand scheme of things is nothing new. The 2000 National School Transportation Specifications & Procedures contains pages of school bus chassis and body specifications but says little about what is specifically expected of the mechanic.

"There's hardly anything, it's terrible," Goby said. "I've been (in the industry) for 30 years; if that's all we figured out to this point we must be stupid."
Mario Gonzalez runs the garage at Orange Unified School District in Southern California. The 15-year veteran graduated from Universal Tech Institute in Phoenix and is ASE certified. He expects similar expertise from his six current mechanics and will be hiring two more certified technicians next school year. But he agreed that a lack of national standards on uniform mechanic requirements is problematic.

"Unfortunately, there are shops that run school buses that have the minimum requirements for the technicians to work on a vehicle, whether it be yellow or green," he said.

He thinks training is something that is personal to the mechanic; a strong work ethic and satisfaction for a job well done drives many to further their education and obtain the latest certificates. With the increased complexity of engine and transmission electronics, as well many other vehicle systems, this type of training has never been more important.

One would think - or at least hope - that most technicians fall within the category of caring, diligent individuals who would trust their work to carry their own children to school. But such assumptions in this day and age can literally kill. What's more, the ASE said school districts that fail to implement strict standards in their school bus garage are opening themselves up to tremendous liability claims.

"Would you take your taxes to an uncertified accountant?" asked Molla. "Surprisingly enough, a lot of entities across the country aren't aware that certifications from ASE are available."

Brent Huffman, the pupil transportation specialist with the Utah State Office of Education, said all state school bus technicians are also required to attend a hands-on in-service each June.

"Prior to me becoming state director, they would sit in a classroom all day. Mechanics like to get their hands dirty, they like to participate," he said. "Certainly, mechanics don't have to have a CDL to prove they are a mechanic. But some mechanics are sub drivers. We're not going to do anything punitive against (school districts) if their mechanics don't go to in-service, but most attend. " But that is of little consolation to parents who have children riding school buses in other states. What needs to happen is for the industry to take a more active roll in policing themselves when it comes to issuing national standards for the certification of mechanics. The NAPT has gotten the ball rolling by offering voluntary certifications. But what is really necessary is to increase the visibility of mechanics at the school district level and to raise the pay scale for these technicians who are expected to do far more than simply change the oil and the occasional part. " We need a certain standard, maybe an offshoot of the inspector's committee of NAPT," Little said, adding that better job descriptions for mechanics would attract better talent. "Our focus there is just on the inspector. Put together some good recommendations and share with the states. That's where I think our national organization can assist us."