Welcome Back to School —
On the Bus!
On the first day of school in the Mercer Island School District, 4,280 students from all over the island made their way to Mercer Island High, Islander Middle, West Mercer, Island Park and Lakeridge elementary schools by foot, car, bike, Metro, or on one of the district’s 36 yellow busses. For kindergartners, it was their very first experience with what is to become their “home away from home” for the next thirteen years.
On this rainy day on the last day of August, a group of children and their parents huddled under umbrellas to wait for bus #402 to West Mercer, or #403 to Island Park. As bus #402 stopped, driver Miguel Kerrigan called out the bus number and beckoned for the children (along with a few parents) to come on board. Then, with a friendly wave to the parents and siblings left behind, he drove off to school where teachers were ready and eager to greet their new students.
As the first and last person to see students every day, Kerrigan takes his job very seriously. “The youngest ones are often frightened, but excited at the same time,” he said. “I try to know every child’s name, greet them and smile a lot while driving them safely to school. I have been driving a bus for 19 years, and I love every minute of it. The children are fun, eager to talk about their days at school and most of the time, very well behaved.” |
Waiting in the rain for the school bus to arrive
Bus Driver Miguel Gerrigan helps make
the first day of school a happy occasion
for brand new kindergartners |
Kerrigan is one of 40 drivers employed by the Mercer Island School District. All come from a wide variety of backgrounds, from a CEO of a Spokane Hospital, social worker and program director for Catholic Community Services, brewmaster for Rainier Brewing Company, firefighter, retired business owner, pastor and singer, long-haul trucker, construction supervisor, cartoonist and one newly certified teacher. At least four drivers are graduates of Mercer Island High School. They all decided to become drivers for different reasons – a good job with benefits, for something to do in retirement, to supplement income, but most of all because they love children.
Many of the drivers make special efforts to make the trip more enjoyable. Bill Harris and John Lamont, who drove West Mercer routes last year, gave quarters to the WM students on Popcorn Friday. Other drivers sing with the students, or play their favorite radio stations. Bunnie Lehan, who has been driving on Mercer Island for 27 years, is now driving the children of her first “children” on Mercer Island. “I have had the privilege of watching them grow up,” she said. “I hope I have given them something positive to take away from their childhood.”
There are 55 different yellow bus routes in the MISD, transporting an average of 1,900 students per day. Funding comes from the state and local levies such as the 2010 Transportation Levy authorized by the community last February. Every year the state has a “bus count” of students to determine the funding formula for the year. According to Todd Kelsay, Director of Transportation for MISD, “It is really important for every student to ride the bus that week (September 20-24) for obvious reasons. But we like to think that the bus is the best way to get to school every day!”
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