Minnesota School Bus Safety Committee 

Wednesday November 17, 2010

Mankato

Present:     Kristin Johnson, Ray Kroll, Dave Delmonico, LeAnn Livingston, Dave Mohr, Deb Carlson, Duane Bartels, John Thomas, Emily White, Renee Lehman, Eric Schaffhausen, Cynthia Wallin, Ed Carroll, Kala Henkensiefken, Caryn Erickson, Kris Ulbrich, Bob Duncan, Mike Johnson, Ron Meyer, Geoff Cain, Kevin Welton, Cindy McKay, Chrysann Carriveau

Business Meeting:

1. Announcements and introductions:

• Deb Carlson welcomed everyone to the Mankato Exam Station. This building was built by DOT and State Patrol and DVS lease space. They moved in September 27^th.
• Introductions were made.

1. Secretary's report:

• Minutes from the October 20, 2010 meeting were approved.

1. Department Reports:
   1. MDE – Kelly Wosika

• Kelly was not in attendance

1. DPS-  Lt Carroll

• Ed talked about School Bus safety week. His troopers are doing roadside inspections around the State.  They have done 258 inspections and found 271 equipment violations. Twelve drivers were put out of service. They also did 3 compliance reviews.
• Saulk Center had an issue with cars dropping off students in the same area as the buses. With the help of the department the area has been revamped.
• Inspectors have also been getting on buses at sporting events. They did 32 at the Excel Center. Six buses and 1 driver were put out of service. Brake away brakes have also been inspected on trailers. They need to have the brake control on the inside of the bus and the batteries charged.
• Ed is working on a report of the Albertville crash similar to the one that was done for the Cottonwood crash. This presentation will be done for the motor coach group in December.
• Ray Kroll mentioned the DVD ‘Almost Home’ which is distributed by Pegasys.

Law Compliance- Duane Bartels

• Working on file audits with districts/contractors. One audit showed evaluations that were four years old. Another was not current on drug and alcohol testing.
• Remember that bus drivers are constantly being watched by the public.

1. Driver and Vehicle Services- Deb Carlson

• CDL vacancies are being filled.
• Physicals and BCA checks are current
• The number of medical waivers has increased and there is only one main person working on these.
• Issuing is taking about 25 days.
• There is one rule writer that is working on new issues. Things being looked at are; credit cards for payment, ignition interlock, medical certificates and Type 3 School Buses.
• FMCSA has finalized rule on wireless communications. This is a disqualifying offence if sited.
• Before issuing a CDL a triple check is done to make sure the driver is who they say they are. Social Security numbers are a part of this check
• Agents that do drivers licenses cannot do passports. These need to be in two separate offices.
• If drivers have been granted waivers they must carry the letter with them when driving.

1. MN School safety Center-Barb Fonkert

• Barb was not in attendance but sent the following information
• The Center is offering the following new trainings; Threat Assessment in Schools will be on Thursday Jan. 6^th 8:30-12:00 at the New Brighton Public Safety building., Multi-Hazard Emergency Planning for Schools, Wed. and Thurs, Feb 16-17^th 8:30-4:00 each day in New Brighton and School Resource Officer training, Tues.-Fri. Jan. 11-14 in North Mankato.
• Check  the website at www.mnssc.state.mn.us for registration and other trainings which will be offered in the spring.

1. Committee Reports    
   1. TTT- Ray Kroll

• The committee met before this meeting. Dates are July 12-15 in Hinckley.
• Bob Duncan and Kristin Johnson attended the NAPT conference in Portland
• Dave Delmonico is working on the agenda
• Want to address each of the competencies from the curriculum.
• Will meet again next month at 8:30 prior to this meeting

1. Rodeo –Sherry Case was not in attendance

• The date will be June 4, 2011. Site to be determined. Possibly St. Cloud.

1. Poster contest- Cindy McKay. 

• The theme this year is ‘I see the Driver, the Driver Sees Me’
• Cindy wants to continue to do the poster contest as she has been since December of 2006. There apparently is some confusion on her not being able to chair this if she is not an MAPT Board Member. Cindy is a member of MAPT but not a Board member.
• Information is ready to go and will be sent out to all members. Last year two winners from Minnesota placed at Nationals.

1. Stake Holders Group- Dave Johnson

• Next meeting will be Monday Dec. 13^th at 9:00 AM

Organization Reports

MSBOA – Summer Conference June 12-14 in Grand Rapids           

MAPT –

• The joint MAPT/MSBOA Conference will be Jan 21-22 in Mankato. One of the sessions will be on how to work with the media.
• Summer Conference June 15-17 at Craguns

Old Business:  

New Business: 

• Ray moved and Bob seconded that this committee appoint Cindy McKay as the Poster Contest Chair. The motion and second was withdrawn until more dialog can happen with MAPT/MSBOA. Kristin Johnson and Save Delmonico will do some further checking on this.
• Kristin Johnson gave a reminder that when drivers stop at railroad tracks they need to open their window and door all the way. Drivers will be cited if not done.
• If your garage doors at your facility are electric, make sure they are well maintained so that they can be opened if there is a loss of power.
• Sure-Lok and Q-Straint have merged into one company.
•  

The Special Ed. Committee will meet right after this meeting.

Meeting was adjourned at 11:00AM

Respectfully submitted,

Emily White (Secretary)