Bus roadeo puts school officials behind the wheel

One of the goals of the annual National School Bus Safety Week is to show appreciation to school bus drivers for the vital service they provide.

At Pinellas County Schools, district administrators will do this by stepping out of their offices and climbing behind the wheel of one of the big, yellow vessels. Although they won’t have a busload of rambunctious children to deal with, they will have to navigate an obstacle course.

This special school bus roadeo will take place during National School Bus Safety Week, which is held the full third week of October each year, and it’s expected to attract attention throughout the community, with local news crew covering the action.

Pinellas held its first roadeo for administrators last year. Among the competitors were the district’s superintendent and deputy superintendent.

“We just thought it would build morale and give some of the top administrators a better view of what driving a school bus is like,” said T. Mark Hagewood, manager of transportation services at Pinellas.

In the weeks before the competition, the administrators underwent several sessions with driver training staff. Their prior experience was limited to an associate director who had driven a church bus in the past.

Although it was raining on the day of, the competition proceeded. Hagewood said that there was a strong turnout of spectators and news crews. A risk management administrator ended up winning the roadeo.

An awards ceremony was held at a subsequent school board meeting. Veteran bus driver Annie Hobson handed out plaques and a trophy to the competitors.

It would be tough to find a better ambassador than Hobson for a National School Bus Safety Week event. She’s been driving for Pinellas since 1974 with no accidents and without missing a day of work. Hobson plans to retire in March.