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By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

The Chilton County Schools Transportation Department honored six longtime bus drivers on May 22 as they entered retirement and hung up their keys. Chilton County Schools bus drivers Raymond Davidson, Joe Dennis, Felicia Ellison, Nina Headley, Angie Jones and Clarissa Smith are all retiring following the 2024-25 school year.

“Safety is the number one priority, and our job is to just get (the students) there safely and get them back home safely,” Dennis said. “It is a huge responsibility to be responsible with someone’s children or grandchildren, but you have to put that to the back of your mind, be as safe as you can and treat them like they were your children or grandchildren.”

All six drivers were seasoned veterans on the road with their experience ranging from at least 15 years on the road to over 25 years. Davidson drove a bus for CCS for 19 and a half years, Dennis for 28 years, Ellison for 15 years, Headley for 25 years, Jones for 25 years and Smith for 18 years.

“You see the students as your children and you treat them as your children, so you are going to do everything that you can do to protect them and ensure their safety,” Smith said.

Headley held a unique job during her 25 years serving as a bus aide aboard special education buses for CCS.

“(Those students) really became family,” Headley said.

The CCS Transportation Department extended their streak of perfect bus inspection scores from the Alabama State Department of Education to five consecutive years this year, and the drivers have a hand in that as well by keeping the buses in good hands while out on the road. Jones added that when it comes to the mechanical aspect of it, the drivers have to look over the bus before each trip, so they can relay things to the bus house and their mechanics to make the process even smoother.

Overall, for the six bus drivers, caring for the children and ensuring their safety on a daily basis was their main goal, and what they will miss the most in retirement.

“Seeing how much they change from year to year,” Dennis said. “Over the summer they come back and they are three inches taller than they were in May, it was fun watching them grow.”

All six drivers were all recognized for their service to the school system and its students at a gathering of the CCS bus drivers on May 22. Each retiring driver received a plaque and a diecast school bus for their years of service.