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Superintendent details bus‑driver training and provides update on April bus crash victims
Summary
Superintendent Gretchen Dorner summarized driver certification requirements, training, and post‑accident supports after public comments raised concerns about experience and medical screening for CDL holders; she reported no students or staff remain hospitalized.
Superintendent Gretchen Dorner told the Kingman Unified School District Governing Board on May 13 that while no prior experience is required to begin the process of becoming a district school bus driver, strict statutory and district rules apply before a candidate transports students.
Dorner outlined the district’s transportation training and certification process: required classroom instruction (14 hours), possession of a commercial learner’s permit with endorsements for general knowledge, air brakes and passengers, 20 hours of supervised driving under the permit, a third‑party road test, and an initial year limited to local routes. Drivers wishing to accept field trips must apply and ride with experienced drivers for several months before operating independently. She said buses receive pre‑trip inspections each use and follow a preventative maintenance schedule every 45 days or 4,500 miles plus safety audits every 90 days; ADOT also conducts an annual district‑wide audit.
Dorner also provided an update on the April school bus accident previously discussed at board meetings: she said no staff or students remain hospitalized but several passengers and staff are receiving outpatient care for physical injuries and counseling for emotional trauma. The district and community have coordinated donations and travel support for affected families and staff; some funds and support are being channeled through GoFundMe pages and high‑school fundraisers, the superintendent said.
At public comment, a community member raised a separate concern about CDLs being cleared by chiropractors who lack access to the state’s controlled‑substance monitoring program, which could allow a medically impaired driver to pass a CDL physical if they omit prescription information. Trustees and staff responded that the district can perform monitoring and testing and that they will follow up on the procedural concern noted by the commenter.
No board action was taken at the May meeting on hiring rules beyond the clarifications Dorner offered. The superintendent said district leaders will continue monitoring driver certifications, maintenance and post‑accident supports for students and staff.
