Latest from the Superintendent

Welcome from the Superintendent

To: Parents and Guardians

From: Mark McQueen, Superintendent

Date: October 24, 2025

Celebrating National School Bus Safety Week

The big yellow school bus is an iconic symbol of our schools, and this week is National School Bus Safety Week! While we celebrate our amazing BDS Transportation Team year-round, I want to take a moment to highlight their incredible service to our students and families.

While we’re grateful that we haven’t had any major incidents this year, we have had a couple of close calls that remind us just how important school bus safety is—for our drivers, our students, and everyone sharing the road. We’re thankful for the professionalism and quick thinking of our transportation team, whose dedication helps keep our students safe every day.

Safety is, and always will be, our number one priority. Our bus drivers and support staff play a vital role in making that happen. They’re the first faces our children see each morning and the last they see before heading home, and their commitment to safety and caring for our students deserves to be celebrated.

Did you know our transportation team safely transports more than 8,000 students each day across 103 routes driven by 99 dedicated drivers? Together, they travel over 6,800 miles daily, more than 1.2 million miles each year! These numbers represent the extraordinary effort and responsibility our team takes on to ensure every child arrives safely at school and back home.

Of course, it takes all of us to keep our students safe. We’re grateful to the parents, guardians, and community members who watch for school buses and stop when children are getting on or off. Your cooperation is essential. A special thank-you, also, goes to Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford and his team, along with all area law enforcement agencies, for their ongoing partnership and commitment to school bus safety.

Please join me in celebrating and appreciating our BDS Transportation Team during School Bus Safety Week…and every day. Their dedication, professionalism, and commitment to student safety are truly commendable.

Thank you for helping us keep our students safe..and together, let’s put the ‘A’ back in Bay!