2009-2010 Annual Report to the Members

1. 2009-2010 Annual Report to the Members John J. McCormick President

2. PURPOSE • To present to the members a report of activities and progress toward goals and objectives • To comply with the provisions of Article III of the NYAPT By-laws which require such report

3. COMMUNICATIONSCOMMITTEE • Developed a Power Point Presentation for members to use to promote NYAPT when presenting to School Boards, PTA’s and others • Worked with staff to make the NYAPT website current, meeting member needs for information • Developed and produced a “NYAPT” magnet to promote NYAPT and support upgrades to the NYAPT website. Magnets will be sold at the annual conference and other NYAPT events

4. COMMUNICATIONSCOMMITTEE (continued) • Worked with staff to ensure that press opportunities were coordinated and exploited, including awards, programs, accomplishments and legislative advocacy. • Asked for and received authority from the BOD to develop social networking pages. • Worked to set up moderators for the workshops at the annual conference. • Set the dates to be posted on the website to promote School Transportation Personnel Appreciation Week. Will work to plan, promote, and link it to member recruitment, conference attendance in the future.

5. FINANCECOMMITTEE • Developed 2010-11 Budget • Reviewed and Modified Fiscal Control Policies • Closely monitored 2009-10 Budget • Audit Report • Developed Mid-year Budget Reduction Actions • Developed New Sponsorship Package • Established Conference Dues and Fees • Supported Funding for Website Changes • Evaluated Membership and Conference Fees

6. LEGISLATIVECOMMITTEE • Focused Legislative Agenda: Budget issues, Illegal Passing penalties and Mandate Relief • Took positions on 64 school transportation bills: 42 Opposition, 15 Support, 7 No Recommendation • With Pupil Safety explored Pre-K transportation; issued a Survey Monkey to solicit member data; • Formed a sub committee to study state aid formulas; • Developed a recommendation on the Non-Allowable Pupil Decimal;

7. LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE (continued) • Successful Lobby Day (May 4) that involved 38 NYAPT members; featured a press conference on illegal passing with a state Senator and Assembly Member; • Continued presence with SED, Regents and industry partners on regionalization and the BOCES task force on reducing school costs;

8. LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE • Next Year: Starting in Aug., review the final results of this year’s legislative session and start to position ourselves for next year’s session with a new governor • Continue to research areas for mandate relief and state aid equity

9. LONG RANGE PLANNINGCOMMITTEE • Worked with all Committee Chairs to identify issues and progress points in their work • Explored and discussed a ‘futuring’ document prepared by Council of School Superintendents – helped to frame issues for our strategic planning

10. Where have we been? September 2009 Active Membership-389 Active – 357 Assoc- 25 Ret – 7 June 2010 Membership – 652 Active – 486 Assoc – 39 Ret - 11 Where are we going? > Continued Growth > New Directions > Member Support > Member Services > Member Benefits MEMBERSHIPCOMMITTEE

11. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTCOMMITTEE • Completed analysis of NAPT Courses that NYers have taken to determine which courses were most needed • After careful consideration, selected the Transportation Law, Dispatcher, and Budget Preparation Courses as priorities • Made workshop recommendations for Winter and Summer 2010 Conferences • Conducted positive dialogue with the Ulster County Dept. of Civil Service towards state-wide recognized qualifications for the position of Transportation Supervisor

12. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTCOMMITTEE • Visited Chapter Meetings, promoting NYAPT Certification and the MVCC Program • Recommended a follow-up to the Law Course specifically addressing Special Education transportation issues • Recommended enhancements to NYAPT Certification Requirements, which were subsequently approved by the Board of Directors • Begun substantive discussion on a Leadership Academy for up-and-coming supervisors

13. PUPIL SAFETYCOMMITTEE • Vision for the CommitteeEstablish specific goals with reasonable expectations for organization leaders and staff to accomplish in support of safe and efficient student transportation. • Developed Conference/Regional workshop subjects for 2010-11 • Homeless Transportation best practices compared to and in support of McKinney-Vento driven regulations • Worked with the legislative committee on Universal Pre-Kindergarten; identified potential issues and presented to NYSED representatives; Discussed regional/nationwide pre-school best practices.

14. PUPIL SAFETYCOMMITTEE (continued) • Discussed and researched the 55/65 MPH project in an attempt to present a recommendation on a position for the association. • Discussed in collaboration with Safe Trans the need to define vehicle equipment options standardization and improvement plan. • Epi-pen and general medical needs standards were discussed. • Discussed the concept of NYAPT preparing a selection of best practices to offer a ‘drivers need to know” type guideline.

15. ART SCHOCK AWARDCOMMITTEE • Prepared our nomination and application package for the membership • Refined our pictorial slide presentation on the Schock Award • Reviewed all candidates who were nominated • Announced the winner in 2009 as Jack Burns of Grand Island CSD

16. OPERATION SAFE STOPCOMMITTEE • Conducted successful Operation Safe Stop Day on April 15, 2010; recorded over 1150 violations; • Assisted in developing a new GTSC grant application program; • Judged the 2009 and 2010 Kids Say Stop bumper sticker entries; • Reviewed ways to increase local participation and collaboration for future events

17. POSTER CONTEST 2009-10 Activities • Increased School Transportation Visibility • Developed an Article about the Contest • Letter to Board of Regents about the Contest and the Winners • Contest featured in School Boards Association Newspaper • NYS Representation and Winners at National Level

18. POSTER CONTESTCOMMITTEE 2010-11 Direction • Committee Growth • Increased Chapter Involvement • Program Brainstorming on Website • Public Display of Posters • 2011 Theme: I See the Driver, the Driver Sees Me

19. ROAD-EO COMMITTEE • In July 2009, we held our last Road-eo Day at the Holiday Inn/Wolf Road • Worked on a Road-eo Timeline for each task needed to ensure the success of the Road-eo Day • Discussed all the plans needed for the new Road-eo location which would be the Maple Avenue Middle School in Saratoga Springs • Worked closely with Site Liaison Cheryl Dalton, of Saratoga Springs • Reviewed all cost areas to help make the Roadeo more self-sufficient

20. ROAD-EO COMMITTEE (continued) • Arranged for Shuttle buses and Security • Reviewed all guidelines for judges and contestants • Chairs of Tech-Mech and Special Needs Road-eo’s cooperated in designing a successful day • Worked on the pilot program called A-B-Cs in School Transportation for drivers and others participating in the Road-eo Day

21. SAFE TRANSCOMMITTEE • Worked with DMV on eliminating requirement for backlit destination signs; • Worked with DOT on regulations re: fire supression systems; • Did a survey on DOT out of service criteria to get ideas for making the OOS clearer for motor carriers; • Selected the Technician of the Year

22. SCHOLARSHIPCOMMITTEE • Refined all the Scholarship applications and set earlier deadlines for submittal • Reviewed dozens of worthy student applications • Selected winners in all categories and made information available to schools in time for graduation and awards ceremonies

23. SPECIAL NEEDS COMMITTEE • In July 2009, we introduced new and exciting events to mimic real world driving and interacting experiences; • Enlisted the NYS School Psychologists Assn., to write student profiles for the driving course. This allowed participants to acquire a better understanding of behavior management. • Instituted an essay question in our take home test and hope to continue this valuable event element • We have again enlisted the professional help of our partners like Kathy Furneaux from PTSI and other national experts.

24. SPECIAL NEEDS COMMITTEE (continued) • In the future, the special needs committee looks to be more directly involved in planning the Special Needs Road-eo event • We will look into developing individual roadeo guidelines and procedure manuals to help in developing leaders for the event. • I would also like to report that this will end my term as Special Needs Roadeo Chair

25. IN CLOSING • It has been a very busy and productive year for all involved. • Thank you to our committee chairs and committee members for leading our Association on so many issues and in so many ways. • OUR FUTURE IS RIDING WITH US!