Here comes the school bus!

Country Notebook

By Rogene "Jeannie" McPherson

Every morning Tony, our bus driver in the 1960s, came early to have breakfast with my family. We were the first on our morning route, and his arrival ensured we would get to the bus on time. He was good friends with my Dad and really the entire family. He was always welcome at our table and home.

If we weren’t wide-awake at breakfast, we surely were by the time we walked onto the bus. In a different decade, Tony might have made it as a stand-up comedian.  Corncob jelly was a thing then and we often had it on toast for breakfast. One morning, Tony pretended to shake and claimed he had caught a disease from the corn-borer infesting the corn crop. Not true, of course, but 60-plus years later, I still remember the scene like it was yesterday.

Tony was great with kids, ensuring we were each noticed and appreciated by him.  When we arrived at school, the large capacity bus was full.  He had a huge responsibility, but seemed to make it appear easy. He was playful and fun, but we also knew if our behavior was out of line, Tony would be in contact with our Dad by no later than the end of the first period and that was long before cell phones.  A great role model I shall never forget.

Bus drivers are exceedingly crucial to the success of a student’s day.  As an administrator of students with special needs, I rarely had to hire bus drivers, but I vividly remember moving a classroom para-educator to be a para-educator on a bus.  I assured her she would be the most important person in the child’s day by greeting him with a smile, kind words, and encouragement.  If a student’s morning at home was anything but positive, it was a partial solution to problematic behaviors If the para did as I requested.

Being a bus driver is a huge responsibility made a little easier by ongoing efforts to improve the safety of buses. We’ve come a long way since 1914 when the first motorized school bus was introduced. In the 1930s, steel bodies and safety glass windows improved protection and comfort for students.

In 1939, a conference was organized by Dr. Frank Cyr of Columbia University to standardize the school bus industry. Transportation officials and bus manufacturers agreed to 44 standards covering bus dimensions, safety features, forward-facing seating and other interior layout. Dr. Cyr, a native of my hometown in Nebraska, is known as the father of the school bus, especially since he successfully standardized the yellow color of school buses. The yellow paint is officially known as “National School Bus Glossy Yellow.” It was introduced as the easiest shade to see at dawn and dusk and it contrasted well with the black lettering on the vehicles. 

In that period of history, there were more than 200,000 one-room schools not benefitting from school buses because of the relatively short distance from school to the student’s farm home.  As school districts became consolidated the need for buses increased, and today every  public student is entitled to school transportation unless living a prescribed distance from their school. 

Before school buses became readily accessible, getting to high school became problematic for farm students. In the 1930s many students, especially young men, were needed on the farm. My father was given the choice of farming or riding a horse to school every day, a 12-mile round trip. My mother lived in the country, too, but my grandparents made arrangements for her to live in town with family friends so that she could attend and graduate from high school in the early 1940s. 

In addition to state and federal funding sources, a large percentage of our county property taxes is used to fund our public schools.  With the purchase of new buses, continuing maintenance, gasoline, and salaries of bus personnel, it should not be surprising that transportation is a major expense in running our schools.  Fewer students would likely attend school without transportation assistance.

National School Bus Safety Week is October 20-24, 2025. From my research, October 20, 2021 was the last time Governor Kelly proclaimed School Transportation Appreciation Day in Kansas. In my opinion, each school district could, however, designate their own special day for students to make a thank-you card for their driver (even if it’s a mother, father, grandparent). Bus drivers are an essential component to the education and safety of our children.