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ATBE Automobile Fund Claims

Click below to complete the form and return to Transportation if you have been involved in an accident with a school bus.

http://www.alabamaschoolboards.org/our-services/atbe-auto-claims

Bus Driver Handbook

Any candidate obtaining a CDL for school bus driver who successfully obtains the CDL and works as a substitute or driver for Morgan County Schools shall on the 3rd check from the system, receive reimbursement for expenses incurred obtaining the certificate.  Reimbursement will be for the fees and cost for the written test, Drug Test, physical exam, and final cost of the CDL license. A written agreement will be signed and submitted to payroll and approved by the transportation director.  In addition, the employee will remain employed by Morgan County Schools at a minimum of 2 consecutive years.

The application for reimbursement will contain itemized expenses by the employee and will require receipts for said expenses.  The applicant will also provide a copy of his or her CDL license.  Drivers also enjoy...

• 4-hour work day
• Full Health Insurance
• Sick Days
• Personal Days
• Retirement Benefits
• Honor of contributing to the education of young people

Our drivers are equipped with two-way radios for communication with the transportation shop crew and one another. Each bus is outfitted with video cameras to aid in disciplinary situations. Cameras are also used to enforce Alabama´s school bus passing law. Bus routes are planned, to the extent possible, to avoid students having to cross a road, but it is of utmost importance that all drivers be aware of sharing roadways with school buses. Awareness is extremely important when school buses are picking up and dropping off students. Passing a school bus with its stop sign out and red lights flashing is an offense that can cost you $300 and 1-2 days in court. When you see a bus with flashing amber lights, make preparations to stop. Remain stopped until the bus driver turns off the flashing lights and pulls the bus stop sign in. All traffic must stop when a bus is stopped, regardless of the direction of travel, unless there is a grass median or concrete barrier between your lane of traffic and the lane the bus is traveling in.

COVID-19 Transmission Risk During School Bus Transportation: “Universal testing and contact tracing revealed no transmission linked to bus transportation” in a new study in the Journal of School Health.

• “An independent Virginia school monitored 1,154 students with asymptomatic PCR testing every 2 weeks initially and later every week from August 28, 2020-March 19, 2021, during highest community transmission.”
• “Fifteen buses served 462 students while operating at near capacity of 2 students in every seat, using a physical distancing minimum of 2.5 feet, universal masking and simple ventilation techniques.”
• “There were 39 infectious COVID-19 cases who were present on buses during the study period, which resulted in the quarantine of 52 students. Universal testing and contact tracing revealed no transmission linked to bus transportation.”

Each June, our department sends our most skilled bus drivers to compete in the Alabama School Bus Safety Road-E-O in Montevallo. There, drivers showcase their bus driving skills by finding deficiencies in a parked bus and then navigating a complicated obstacle course which they must complete without coming to stop. Morgan County is known throughout the state for regularly having drivers place in the top three, and for having won the Road-E-O seven times!

Each summer, our Transportation director attends the Alabama School Transportation Association´s annual conference.  ASTA is a primary source of training in school bus safety and maintenance for local school transportation programs. Some of our mechanics and technicians attend as well, to  participate in educational sessions and roundtable discussions on best practices.  

A second source of professional development for our director is the annual Southeastern States Pupil Transportation Conference.  At SESPTC, local school program directors increase their knowledge on such varied topics as leadership, drug and alcohol testing, transportation technology and products, national issues, human trafficking, active shooter situations, special education issues, traffic incident management, education law, safety and security, employee recruitment and retention, and much more.