Illinois’ state transportation director Mike Stier has stepped into the spotlight! Last June, former president of the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) Mike Simmons stepped down after leading the association since 2022 — for the second time — and retiring from Arkansas’s state department. Stier had been serving as NASDPTS president-elect prior to Simmons' resignation. 

Stier is based in Springfield, Ill., and also serves as principal consultant.

Now, with several months under his belt in the top association role, SBF checked in with Stier. As of this article going to press, Stier was gearing up for the annual NASDPTS conference.

SBF: Last June, you started your new role of NASDPTS president. What have your first few months looked like and what have you been working on? 

Stier: Mike Simmons stepped down as NASDPTS president following his retirement as state director of Arkansas. NASDPTS is incredibly grateful for Mike’s service and wishes him well in his retirement. 

NASDPTS has been very busy as of late. We released our 2024 Illegal Passing Survey data in July, and in addition to preparing for our conference in November, we are very involved in preparations for the 2025 National Congress on School Transportation. 

How did you start your career and what brought you into the world of student transportation?

Stier: I started my career back in the 1990s in tourism transportation, which led to a part-time job helping as a substitute school bus driver. From there, I became a transportation director for a school district, a board of director for the Illinois Association for Pupil Transportation, as well as a school bus driver instructor for the state of Illinois. Fast forward to today, I am now the state director for pupil transportation with the Illinois State Board of Education. 

Over this period, the technology used in student transportation has advanced significantly both in the school bus and behind the scenes in the shop and office. 

Tell us about any trends or challenges Illinois school transportation providers are facing. Is anything different compared to other areas of the country? 

Stier: Illinois, like many other states, is seeing an increase in vehicles other than school buses being used for school transportation. This is concerning because we all know that children are safest when they travel to and from school in the yellow school bus. 

We are also seeing continued growth in the alternative transportation space. As noted in the NASDPTS Illegal Passing Survey, the continued rise of motorists illegally passing stopped school buses is also a great concern. We are also still focused on the ongoing shortage of school bus drivers and mechanics. 

Have you observed any innovative ways schools have tackled challenges that other districts can take notes from? 

Stier: Schools today must be creative, but they also have to be nimble. COVID taught us many things, but being flexible and being creative were the two greatest lessons. We didn’t always have the answer, but we continued to work to try to find an answer. Schools are still in that space today. 

What can members and industry stakeholders expect from NASDPTS looking ahead? Any key initiatives or plans? 

Stier: NASDPTS works hard every day to serve the needs of the nation’s state directors of pupil transportation. It’s a very specialized membership, with state directors learning best from each other. We are currently preparing for our 2024 NASDPTS Annual Conference, which is November 15-19 at the Ritz Carlton Pentagon City. State directors will hear from several federal agencies and participate in a security exercise led by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at our conference. The information state directors will hear at our conference is invaluable to them in their day-to-day operations.