Marcela Southerland, special needs bus driver, waves before competing in the CFISD School Bus Safety Road-e-o on March 3 at the Eldridge Transportation Center. Southerland and her assistant, Carol Moore, placed second in the special needs competition.
March 22, 2022—CFISD school bus drivers placed in the CFISD School Bus Safety Road-e-o, held March 3 at the Eldridge Transportation Center.
Bus driver Austin Baker of the Barker Transportation Center won the 2022 competition after completing a written exam and eight driving obstacles.
Helen Nixon and Dawn Webster, both of the Eldridge Center, were named the second and third place finishers, respectively.
Bus driver Dolores Irizarry watches and judges as a bus competes in a driving obstacle during the CFISD School Bus Safety Road-e-o on March 3 at the Eldridge Transportation Center. A total of 26 drivers competed in the competition. All competitors completed a written test and drove through different obstacles.
“I would like to extend a big thank you to all who helped make this event successful and to the participants for coming out and showing off their skills,” said Cheryll Hill, assistant director of transportation. “While it can seem stressful at the time, at the end of the day, everyone enjoys and looks forward to the next time they get to maneuver their way through the obstacles and show off how well they can drive. I would also like to congratulate our regular education drivers and our special needs teams that will be moving on to the regional bus road-e-o.”
In the Special Needs School Bus Road-e-o, drivers Pam Bokemeyer and Karla Suarez, both of the Eldridge Center, placed first. The runners-up were Marcela Southerland and Carol Moore of the Telge Center. Special needs drivers completed five driving obstacles and three securement challenges, including wheelchair loading and a bus inspection.
Falcon Transportation Center bus driver Michael Ferrel was the sole transit winner.
Pictured, from left, Ana Morin, Telge Transportation Center director, Liliana Quintanilla, special education supervisor and Tuwandra Harris, special education supervisor, pose for a photo at the CFISD School Bus Safety Road-e-o. Quintanilla and Harris served as judges for the special needs competition.
A total of 26 drivers participated in the competition.
The drivers qualified for the Gulf Coast Chapter of the Texas Association for Pupil Transportation (TAPT) School Bus Safety Road-e-o competition on Saturday, April 9 at the Spring ISD Transportation Center.
The top winners from the regional competition will advance to the compete at the TAPT state competition, to be held June 11-12 at the Mansfield ISD Performing Arts Center.
