Driving Oklahoma's future
Seasoned pro works to train new recruits for city district

Tonda Russell, a school bus driver in Oklahoma City since 1982, now trains new drivers for the school district. By Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman

Special education

The Oklahoma City School District has 55 mini buses that are equipped with air conditioning and seat restraints, district transportation director Stephen Foster Jr. said.

The smaller buses are used primarily for students in special education, he said.

The bus drivers receive first aid and related training at the beginning of the year from other district officials.

Bus aides go along to attend to the students' needs so the driver can stay focused on the road, Foster said. The district has 40 bus aides, he said.

"We are the first person of their school day and we are the last,” Russell said.

"Some of the ones that I started with in '82 are now some of our town leaders, so they're very precious. They're our present and our future.”

Russell is so experienced that she leads the on-the-road portion of training to drive a school bus — for which a special license is required — for new recruits.

This year, Gayla Smotherman is among them.

"I always was the mother with the ‘TAXI' on her car, so I might as well start driving them anyway, get paid,” she said.

"To start a new career is what I'm looking for now, and it's going to be exciting.”

Freddie Hudspeth went through training two weeks ago with her. He said he's looking forward to learning the routes and taking the children to school.

"I love driving,” he said after riding a bus during a lesson, smiling despite the heat of the August day.