Owatonna Bus shows appreciation for drivers

Between them, Kera Wertish and Gary Crawford have 49 years of experience driving bus.

Crawford is quick to say all his time behind the wheel has been with Owatonna Bus Company, while Weritsh worked five years in Chaska. But that didn’t stop the two from enjoying Friday’s bus driver appreciation event together at the Owatonna Eagles Club. 

Gov. Tim Walz proclaimed Feb. 22 as School Bus Driver Appreciation Day in the state of Minnesota, but the local celebration stretched out a bit. Owatonna Bus Company manager Steve Hale said the fun started with a chili cook-off on Wednesday and included a special breakfast on Friday morning.

Wertish started driving after seeing an ad that promised not only a job, but the opportunity to bring her infant son to work.

“I didn’t want to put him in day care,” she said.

Crawford, who holds a degree in Early Childhood Education, was “in between jobs” 24 years ago when Hale contacted him to ask if he could help out.

“I can deal with kids,” he said, adding that he has worked for a school system, at a recreation center, and as a coach. “I felt that I could be an asset.”

Both drivers say a lot has changed over the past two decades; kids are more disrespectful than in years past. But that doesn’t mean they get away with more.

“You have to lay the law down in the first part of the year, and you don’t have a problem,” Crawford said. “Let them know what you expect out of them. My kids are good, they know where they stand.”

These days, there’s no kicking an unruly student off the bus. Owatonna Public Schools handles discipline. When an incident happens, the driver writes up a report that is turned into the building.

“They help us figure out how to make the experience better,” Wertish said.

A love of working with kids is what keeps both Wertish and Crawford in the business.

“I like helping them get their day started right,” Crawford said. “If we can say something to brighten their day, that benefits everybody.”

Wertish said being a bus driver has another important benefit: flexibility. 

“You work for an hour and a half in the morning and the afternoon, and then you have that time in between,” she said.

Owatonna Bus Company employees also get together for happy hours, Christmas and New Year’s parties, conversations in the break room. The drivers support each other.

“We have a lot of fun at the bus company,” Wertish said.

The Minnesota School Bus Operators Association (MSBOA) and Minnesota Association of Pupil Transportation (MAPT) first teamed up in 2017 to create School Bus Driver Appreciation Day. Along with sparking public appreciation for school bus drivers, this year’s event was designed to promote school bus driving as a career path.