Minister bus drivers have calming effect in Tenn. district
Of Bedford County Schools' 69 bus drivers, seven are pastors from local churches. Transportation Supervisor Jimmy Williams says the drivers have formed good relationships with the children riding their buses.
SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. — Of Bedford County Schools' 69 bus drivers, seven are ministers from local churches, the Shelbyville Times-Gazette reports.
The district's transportation department staff came up with the idea to hire local pastors in the mid-1990s when they were actively recruiting bus drivers. Jimmy Williams, transportation supervisor, said he appreciates the relationships the ministers have built with the children they transport.
Joe Thompson of Southside Baptist, an early bus driver recruit, said that the presence of a minister on a school bus has proven to calm the students on some of the county's routes that are notorious for behavior problems.
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