“This is amazing for the senior drivers and people that retired to see an upgrade in this district,” Grimes said.
The new building includes perks like a ping pong table, gym equipment for the drivers, space for transportation staff to watch movies and places for them to sit. The building is meant to help retain transportation staff, something the district has struggled with for years.
Transportation staff work in two shifts, in the morning to get kids to school and in the afternoon to get kids home. Many of those bus drivers are taking the RTA or getting a ride to work, so it’s not easy for them to go home in the middle of the day.
DPS Superintendent David Lawrence said the new transportation center is one of his favorite accomplishments. He began working on the transportation center while he was business manager in the 2022-2023 school year.
But Lawrence said there’s been discussion about fixing the transportation center since at least 2005. In his introduction before the ribbon cutting, he joked that board member Eric Walker, the youngest board member, was barely in high school.
“These are our folks who respond and picked up kids first thing in the morning,” Lawrence said. “And this is the type of space that they deserve.”
Marvin Jones, the district’s current business manager, said he’s excited to see the structure completed.
“You guys deserve this space, a place where you can come and relax after a tough job of transporting students to and from home,” Jones said.
Marie Winfrey, the bus drivers’ union president, said she is grateful for the new building.
“When we are in our right mind, we’re comfortable, we’re also energetic,” Winfrey said. “We’re ready to transport our children safely and take them to their destination.”
Lawrence said previously that the district has most of the bus drivers they need, but the district is always looking for more to make sure there are no routes uncovered during the school year.
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