Three Garden City Public Schools brought home awards from the Kansas State Pupil Transportation Association’s Bus Rodeo Safety Competition on June 1 in Salina.
Jerry Guerrero took first place in the Experienced Transit Driver Division; Andrew Herring took second place in the Rookie Transit Driver Division; and Liz Nunez received a medal for a perfect written score.
The winners were presented their awards at a banquet that was held on June 3.
Other Garden City Schools drivers that competed included Kim Nichols, Nick Nethery, June Davis, Kathleen Pepera, and Xochiltl Fernandez.
The school bus safety competition is designed to recognize excellence in school bus drivers while demonstrating skills needed in their demanding jobs of safely transporting students. The competition consists of a written exam and a series of skills tests.
The written examination tests the school bus drivers’ knowledge in all areas of school bus operations, laws, rules, and regulations. This portion of the competition tested the drivers’ knowledge as well as their ability to comprehend and respond to written instructions.
The driving skills portion of the competition requires the drivers to demonstrate exemplary skills in such areas as law/regulation knowledge, school bus inspections, and bus driving skill maneuvers. The drivers were challenged to maneuver a school bus around obstacles and demonstrate that they know all the ins and outs of operating a school bus.
