The Garden City Public Schools USD 457 Transportation Department had 12 school bus drivers participate in the Kansas State Pupil Transportation Association’s Safe Driver Competition held on June 4 in Derby.
There were 76 competitors from across the state that participated in the competition.
USD 457’s Jerry Guerrero took first place in the Experienced Transit Driver Division and is the 2025 Overall State Safe Driver champion. He will compete in the National School Transportation Association’s annual School Bus Driver International Safety Competition in Austin, Texas, on June 28 – 29.
The other drivers that competed from the district, and their placings, included:
Martha Swank taking second in the Rookie Transit Bus
Ana Cantu Ortiz taking fourth in the Rookie Transit Bus
Sally Villegas taking fourth in the Rookie Mini Bus
Veronica Veloz taking fifth in the Rookie Transit Bus
Hermila Carillo taking sixth in the Rookie Transit Bus
Kathleen Pepera taking seventh in the Experienced Transit Bus
Raul Moreno taking eighth in the Rookie Transit Bus
Hiliana Carrera taking ninth in the Experienced Transit Bus
Brian Virgil taking 11th in the Experienced Transit Bus
Alma Carillo taking 12th in the Rookie Conventional Division
Elizabeth Nunez taking 12th in the Experienced Transit Bus.
The school bus safety competition is designed to recognize excellence in school bus drivers while demonstrating skills needed in their demanding jobs of safely transporting students. The competition consists of a written exam and a series of skills tests.
The written examination tests the school bus drivers’ knowledge in all areas of school bus operations, laws, rules and regulations. This portion of the competition assesses the drivers’ knowledge as well as their ability to comprehend and respond to written instructions.
The driving skills portion of the competition requires the drivers to demonstrate exemplary skills in such areas as law/regulation knowledge, school bus inspections, and bus driving skill maneuvers. The drivers are challenged to maneuver a school bus around obstacles and demonstrate that they know all the ins and outs of operating a school bus.
The USD 457 Transportation Department has 35 professional drivers and 11 personnel that work to safely transport around 1,900 students per day, as well as 200 special needs students with daily door-to-door service.
The school buses travel a total of 2,800 miles per day or approximately 529,200 miles per school year. The department covers 186 routes across the district during each morning and afternoon.
