SANTA CLARA COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION
Personnel Commission
CLASS TITLE: Bus Driver, Lead/Scheduler
DESCRIPTION OF BASIC FUNCTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES
To act as a liaison between assigned drivers and the transportation office; to assign and schedule special education students to bus routes and transport students; and in the absence of other bus drivers, transport students driving from a variety of school sites to assure their safety while passengers in the school bus. Employees in this classification receive general supervision within a framework of standard policies and procedures. Employees in this job class monitor and coordinate the work of others. This job class performs duties in a lead capacity, assigning and scheduling bus routes as well as facilitating the transportation of students to and from assigned school site locations. This job class is responsible for ensuring the safety of all passengers including special education students while operating the assigned school bus and for ensuring the assigned bus is in a safe operating condition at all time. May be assigned to drive wheelchair or ambulatory buses.
TYPICAL DUTIES
Act as a liaison between assigned drivers and the Transportation Office, relaying information regarding special scheduling, breakdowns, and complex problems, and resolving minor problems
Collects a variety of records and reports from assigned drivers and distributes to appropriate places
Coordinates and assists in transporting students under special circumstances such as bus breakdowns and staffing shortages
Confers with school districts, school site administrators and parents regarding transportation scheduling and routine activities and operations
Develops and modifies bus schedules and routing consolidations; monitors daily schedules and routing operations of the transportation network to ensure compliance with service parameters to maximize transportation effectiveness
Receives notifications from other drivers of any delays in scheduled route
Assists with other routes when breakdowns or other unusual circumstances occur as assigned.
In the absence of other bus drivers, performs the following:
Drives a school bus safely in accordance with time schedules, transporting exceptional needs students to and from their homes and a variety of school sites and maintains order and proper discipline of passengers, resolving disputes and documenting and reporting severe disciplinary cases
Operates a two-way radio
Oversees the loading and unloading of students, assures that safety belts are fastened.
May operate a special ramp bus; loads, and unloads students in wheelchairs on and off bus inspecting wheelchairs for operational safety and permitting only properly functioning wheelchairs to load; operates ramp, assuring seat belts are fastened, positioning the wheelchairs in bus and securing wheelchairs.
Conducts established safety and operational inspection of assigned vehicle daily
Assures maintenance of bus in safe and clean operating condition; reporting needed mechanical repairs installing special safety belts, sweeping interior of bus and washing windows daily, services bus with gas and oil, follows established security procedures
Establishes drop off and pickup order of assigned students, conferring with supervisors, schedulers, parents, and other staff regarding transportation needs, plotting route on map, documenting route, and adjusting route for new and /dropped students schedules
Monitors students with special health problems while in vehicle; receiving written or oral instruction, being aware and alert to any signs of difficulty following prescribed instructions and procedures; administering firs aid, calling for emergency assistance as needed
Evaluates county traffic patterns for scheduling and routing functions
Maintains a variety of records and reports including but not limited to mileage routing, maintenance and time schedules
Attends meeting, programs, and in-service training as assigned
Maintains current required licenses and certificates
EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS
Possession of:
A valid and appropriate California Drivers License
A valid California State School Bus Drivers Certificate
A valid Medical Examiner's Certificate
A driving record which meets the County Office of Education's insurance requirements.
The proper application of first aid practices and procedures
Knowledge of:
Topography and road conditions in the county and related areas
Effective transportation routing and scheduling procedures
Ability to:
Read and interpret a map
Assign special education students to bus routes
Establish and maintain proper conduct and safety of passengers on school bus
Accept/relate to students with a variety of exceptional needs
Exercise good judgment and extreme caution while operating a school bus
Remain calm in an emergency situation
Read and write English at a level sufficient to successfully perform required duties
Understand and carry out both oral and written instructions in an independent manner
Recognize mechanical safety hazards in bus
Designate order of pickup, and drop-off modify bus routes and prepare related reports
Operate a two-way radio
Coordinate and monitor the work of others
Meet the physical requirements necessary to safely and effectively perform the required duties
Establish and maintain effective work relationships with those contacted in the performance of duties
In addition to the above, the drivers assigned to ramp buses require the following:
Physical stamina and stature to load, unload, and secure wheelchair students
The willingness to endure exposure to inclement weather
The skill to operate electrical/manual lifts on ramp buses
Knowledge of proper safety requirements of individual wheelchairs
TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE
Generally, the required knowledge and abilities will have been acquired during at least two years of experience as a School Bus Driver including one-year experience in transportation planning and scheduling.
BARGAINING UNIT: Operations Support Services (OSS) Unit
WORKING CONDITIONS: Duties performed indoors, in an office environment or, in the absence of other bus drivers, in a school bus driving environment where driving is required to conduct to work.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS: Hearing and speaking to exchange information; seeing to perform assigned duties; sitting for extended periods of time; dexterity of hands and fingers to operate school bus vehicles and transport devices; kneeling, bending at the waist, reaching overhead, above the shoulders and horizontally, to retrieve and store files and supplies; lifting heavy objects.
Date: 9/25/84 Personnel Commission Approval
Revised: 6/20/85; 10/14/02 Board Adoption: