CDL Route/Activity Bus Drivers

Job Title: School Bus Driver

Primary Job Function is to transport students to and from school or to and from school sponsored activity while utilizing a school bus in a safe and timely manner, complying with all Taos Municipal Schools, NM PED, and NM DOT policies and procedures.

Operate school buses in all types of weather conditions including but not limited to fog, rain, hail, sleet, and snow. Transport students and other authorized persons to and from school, on field and extra-curricular trips as authorized by school district management. Serve under the administrative supervision of the district administrator responsible for transportation services or designee. Held responsible for route performance, safe operation of school buses, compliance with traffic laws, and compliance with all local, state, and federal laws, rules and regulations governing pupil transportation and school bus operation.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Operates a school bus safely and responsibly.
• Must perform and properly completes required pre/post trip vehicle inspections daily.
• Must comply will all traffic laws and ordinances.
• Must comply with all policies and procedures ensuring student safety.
• Must attend all mandatory in-service trainings.
• Responsible for cleaning and maintaining vehicle and participating in the required semi-annual school bus inspections.
• Must document all mechanical issues on the school bus and reports issues to district mechanics.
• Must work with students, parents, and school personnel to ensure student safety.
• Must ensure that all buses are kept clean, swept, and trash is removed daily.
• Must keep records of all students, assign stops, and pick up/drop off times for school bus route. (Copies must be kept on bus for use of substitute drivers)
• Must submit all required documents related to student ridership and reporting days (80th and 120th day).
• Must properly document incidents that occur on school bus and report incidents to school principal and/or Transportation Department.
• Must adhere to random drug and alcohol testing.
• Must adhere to proper loading and unloading zones.
• May be required to break up student fights.
• Must report accidents immediately to Transportation Department.
• Performs all other miscellaneous job-related duties assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Incumbents must have successful experience in working with culturally diverse families and communities or have otherwise demonstrated a commitment to strengthening engagement of a diverse community and skill in communicating with a diverse population.
• High School Diploma or GED.
• Must be at least 21 years of age.
• Minimum of five years of professional driving experience.
• Knowledge of laws, codes, rules, policies, and regulations relating to pupil transportation.
• Ability to remain calm, thoughtful, and deliberate in emergency situations and when dealing with student behavior issues.
• Ability to remain focused on safe school bus operation during distractions from student behavior.
• Effective oral and written communications; the ability to communicate effectively to calm students in emotional and behavior situations; and the ability to effectively communicate with parents and staff.
• Possess a safe driving record (as demonstrated in five year driving abstract), a valid State of New Mexico Driver's License, and a Commercial Driver's License.
• Possess or be eligible to obtain in a timely manner a State of New Mexico School Bus Driver's Certificate and appropriate licensing endorsement.
• This position is subject to random drug testing.

The physical demands and work environment described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Steering, clutching, and braking a school bus requires strong physical condition; requires prolonged sitting; exposed to high noise levels from engines and students; exposed to road and traffic hazards; required to service buses and to drive in inclement weather.

Requires substantial concentration in various traffic and road conditions to remain alert and responsive despite distractions from students; requires decisiveness and good judgment in emergencies; may occasionally deal with distraught or difficult students, parents, or community members.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit, lift, carry, move about, hear, and speak. Employee may be required to perform extensive work at a computer display terminal.

The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds and must be able to lift and move students of greater weight in emergency situations.

Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

The information contained in this job description is for compliance with the American with Disabilities Act (A.D.A.) and is not an exhaustive list of the duties performed for this position. Additional duties are performed by the individuals currently holding this position and additional duties may be assigned.