CENTER – Center Consolidated School District’s Transportation Department Director Tony Garcia was excited to help the school get two new-to-the-school buses.
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CENTER – Center Consolidated School District’s Transportation Department Director Tony Garcia was excited to help the school get two new-to-the-school buses.
“Well, we were in need of some special needs buses due to us only having an old 1996 Ford for the kids. The Ford only carried four children and one wheelchair. With today’s society, we are getting more and more children, who need more help through the special needs program. We needed a bigger bus. I took it upon myself to speak to other directors around the Valley and obtained some names of some possible people who could help. I approached Superintendent Carrie Zimmerman and the board with it, and they approved it, so it was a sweet deal,” Garcia said.
Garcia is no stranger to helping the school system keep children safe in the transportation department. He has been with the district for many years.
“I am in charge of making sure that all the buses are equipped, safe, and ready to go for all these children that we haul. I do all the mechanic work on the buses. I make sure that all my drivers are legal and drug free, and are up to date on their physicals, things like that,” he said.
Garcia said that part of his job is to do all the scheduling for basketball games throughout the year along with all the other sports, including facilitating high school and elementary trips, too.
“I am in charge of overseeing everything that involves the kids being transported and making sure that they arrive where they are going, safely,” Garcia said.
Garcia said that when he thought about the 1996 Ford that the kids with the special needs program rode around in, he knew that they needed something bigger.
“I spoke with Bob from Sangre, he is the director there, he put me in line with some people from Oklahoma City who help with buses. I was happy to get the idea for the buses approved with Carrie and the school board. We got a really good price, too. We got two buses for the price of one, so we were happy with the outcome on that,” Garcia said.
Garcia said that it means the world to him that he could help with the buses for the children with special needs, and he really enjoys his job, and working for the district.
“I want to thank the Center Schools for putting their trust in me, and for putting their beliefs in me that I can do this job. I am planning on retiring now in May, but I did tell them that I would stay and help train whoever steps in for another year maybe. I enjoy my job, and I was happy to be able to help find these buses for the kids,” Garcia said.