Balto. County beefs up school bus child checks

Device added to keep drivers from leaving kids on at day's end

Horns blared in a Middle River bus lot yesterday.

The reveille was part of a session to teach Baltimore County school bus drivers how to use a new system that officials say should keep drivers from leaving children on unattended buses.

"I'm very optimistic about the start of the school year and our ability to create a safe environment for everyone concerned - the kids, the parents and the drivers," said Rita Fromm, the school system's transportation director.

In February, state legislators reprimanded Fromm after three children were left on buses in separate incidents over about six weeks. At least two drivers and an attendant lost their jobs as a result of a zero-tolerance policy enacted by former Superintendent Anthony G. Marchione.

In Harford County, three children were left on buses during the past school year. School officials have implemented a zero-tolerance policy but have no plans to add child-reminder systems.

In Baltimore County, mechanics have been busy installing the electronic gadgets - which cost about $32 each - on the county's 708 school buses.

"It's been a tremendous effort," said Fromm. "If we don't have one on every bus by the start of school, then we'll go back to hanging a pink streamer out the emergency door [when drivers finish checking the bus]."

About 75 percent of the school system's buses have been equipped with the systems, which incorporate flashing interior lights and a horn to force drivers and attendants to walk to the back to check for sleeping or hidden children.

Yesterday, a group of 15 drivers came at a Middle River bus lot to learn how to use the system, which goes on as soon as a driver turns off the engine.

Lights flash, and the driver has about 45 seconds to walk to the back and lift the emergency door latch. If the driver fails to complete this task, the horn sounds and alerts lot managers that the bus has not been searched.

A driver must restart the engine to silence the honking.

Not a replacement for care

Still, the device is not a replacement for careful searches, said David Ramsay, an area assistant with the system's transportation department.

That was a point that bus driver and trainer Mary Gielner drove home to a group of five drivers yesterday. Strolling down a bus aisle, she instructed drivers to look under seats in case a child is asleep on the floor.

Gielner advised her group to keep instructions on a clipboard near the steering wheel - advice most said they'd follow, at least for the first few weeks of school.

"You know I'll be the one with the horn blowing," said driver Lynn Orndoff, who worried that she'd trip the horn-blowing function after checking for children.

Practice for emergencies

During the three-hour session, drivers also had a chance to adjust mirrors on their buses and practice emergency procedures, including the use of flares.

Countywide, more than 700 drivers have completed summer training courses, which wrap up this week.

The Board of Education recently voted to make all bus drivers full-time employees, a move that cost the county $300,000. It's worth it, said Fromm, who added that most bus drivers were working and getting paid for full-time shifts anyway. "Now they get full-time benefits as well," she said.

Shortage of drivers

Although Fromm had hoped the change would attract applicants, she remains short about 20 bus drivers.

She needs 732 to fill every bus route. Across the nation, school systems have had a difficult time recruiting drivers, in part because of a strong economy.

Fromm has made other changes to help drivers.

In January, she persuaded the school board to set aside $50,000 to equip every bus with a cellular phone. "They're for emergencies only," said Fromm. "The only two numbers available are the central office and 911."