Winning entries in the 15th edition of School Bus Fleet’s Photo Contest present a closer look at some of the remarkable, day-to-day scenes of pupil transportation. These shots were selected from 103 total entries, which were judged by SBF’s editors.
PHOTOS: School Bus Fleet's 2019 Photo Contest
Honorable Mention: During a thunderstorm one afternoon, Dana Acock of Grand Prairie (Texas) Independent School District spotted this dog making himself at home in the district’s school bus shop. She told SBF that the dog was taken to a local animal shelter, where he was later reunited with his owners.
Honorable Mention: As J. Antonio Perez of National City (Calif.) School District pulled into the district’s bus yard one February morning, he noticed the “big, bright, beautiful moon” positioned directly behind these three buses. He noted that this photo was taken one day after the biggest supermoon of 2019.
Honorable Mention: Judy Way of Noblesville (Ind.) Schools captured this shot just as the fast moving clouds were rolling in during a summer storm. She told SBF that the district kept a watchful eye on the storm, but thankfully did not have to cancel summer school that day.
Also Noteworthy: Reuben Apodaca of Albuquerque (N.M.) Public Schools shared this photo of his school bus at the 2018 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Various local pupil transportation operations use their buses to transport spectators to the event every October, Apodaca told SBF.
Also Noteworthy: Maria Brown of Mich. snapped this photo of one of her youngest special-needs students, 6-year-old Elizabeth Havens, posing in front of a cardboard school bus display for oranges.
Also Noteworthy: Vickie Gann of Sedona-Oak Creek (Ariz.) School District #9 shared this photo of her buses parked in the district's bus yard, which overlooks the area's famous Coffee Pot Rock formation.
Also Noteworthy: Teresa Ochoa of Mountain View (Calif.) Whisman School District snapped this photo of her bus in front of Hangar One, one of the world’s largest freestanding structures built during the Great Depression in 1932.
Also Noteworthy: Debbie Wheaton of Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District in Cornville, Ariz., took this photo of her grandson who was excited to board the bus on his first day of first grade.
Winner: Jay Hamrick, a flex driver/trainer for Blue Springs (Mo.) R-IV School District, shared this shot of the bright red autumn leaves reflecting along the bus’s windows before his early morning route. He also pointed out that the moon was still shining in the sky above the bus.
Winner: During a winter storm, Katrina Falk of Shelby Eastern Schools in Shelbyville, Ind., snapped a photo of this bus fringed with icicles. Even though the storm resulted in a snow day, Falk told SBF that she had to chisel her way into many of the district’s buses, which were parked outdoors.
Winner: Ernie Ontiveros of Tempe (Ariz.) Elementary School District perfectly captured the reflection of this Blue Bird bus in a puddle left behind from a rare February rain shower.
Honorable Mention: Skylar Norman of Pierce County (Ga.) Schools snapped this photo of a Ware County (Ga.) School District bus parked underneath a tropical Spanish moss tree. The tree is native to much of the southern portions of the U.S., Mexico, Bermuda, and Central and South America.
Also Noteworthy: Marilyn Fuller of Scotia-Glenville Central Schools in Scotia, NY, spotted this sign posted by her local firehouse. She told SBF that she parked her bus there one afternoon to raise awareness among motorists of school buses on the road.
Also Noteworthy: Holly Trees-Miller of Eastern Hancock County Community School Corp. in Charlottesville, Ind., captured these two siblings boarding the bus on their first day of school.
Also Noteworthy: Emerson Zentz of Bangor, Wis., captured this vintage Chevrolet school bus at sunset. Zentz told SBF that he's been collecting vintage vehicles, many of which are buses, for more than 17 years.