Pasco schools and Suncoast launch mobile 'Get on the Bus' podcast to showcase students and staff

In the debut episode of the Get on the Bus podcast, Pasco County Schools and Suncoast Credit Union introduced a mobile podcast studio that will travel to high schools across Pasco County to highlight graduating seniors, standout students and school staff.

Tony Zecce, chief communications and community engagement officer for Pasco Schools, described how the idea grew from visits to other districts and a chance conversation at a Pasco Ed Foundation sponsorship meeting. "I just started talking and everybody — and I was like, oh, I'm Tony," he said, recounting how the partnership took shape with foundation support.

Bob Hyde, vice president for community impact at Suncoast Credit Union, said the project fits the institution's mission to support health and education. "The foundation is specifically focused on health and education for our children," Hyde said, and he noted the foundation's small-donation funding model: a four-cent donation per eligible member transaction directed to local buckets. "Since the foundation was established in 1990, it's over $60,000,000 that we've given back to our residents," he added.

Organizers said the first stops will focus on high schools under a "Road to Graduation" tour, featuring valedictorians, salutatorians, students who have improved academically, teachers of the year and school programs. Hosts described a preview event that brought roughly 40–50 students onto the bus, and reported strong enthusiasm: students asked for the platform and expressed pride in their achievements.

District and Suncoast staff credited the Pasco Ed Foundation and foundation staff member Jeff Kunnberger for helping move the idea from pitch to production. The podcast and studio were created by retrofitting a retired 2007 school bus with more than 235,000 miles; staff and the transportation department adapted the bus for the project and Andy Dodds, described as the bus driver and videographer, secured the commercial driver's license needed to operate it.

Organizers said the series is intended to expand storytelling about the district beyond internal channels and to reach students who cannot travel to district offices. Partner organizations named on the debut episode included Johns Hopkins, All Children's Hospital and the Pasco Ed Foundation.

The hosts closed the episode by thanking maintenance and transportation staff and by promising future stops on the tour; no firm broadcast schedule was announced.