Area bus drivers participate in shooter training

SPARTA -- It's a nightmare scenario for any parent, student and school bus driver.

In a three-minute video, a student in a hooded sweatshirt, slouched over on the bus seat, slowly pulls a handgun out of the backpack beside him. Cocking it as quietly as he can to avoid attracting attention from the other students chattering around him, he stands up and opens fire.

On this rainy night, Oct. 10, the passengers are bus drivers and the shooter is a member of the Randolph County Sheriff's Office. The scenario is one of several devised through the active shooter training that is being conducted by the Monroe-Randolph Regional Office of Education.

"You can talk about these things, even though you're just driving around the parking lot, you know what's going to happen, but it has a direct impact on the people participating in the scenarios," said Regional Superintendent of Schools Kelton Davis. "What I'd love for them is to not know who the shooter is. Maybe have one of the officers acting as the bus driver."

More than 80 area bus drivers participated in the training, which is mandatory, with a similar session scheduled for Thursday in Waterloo.

"We have it geographically, but people in our region can got to either one," Davis said.

The drivers, some of whom had been behind the wheel for 10 years or longer, were treated to a 40-minute presentation by Corey Zavorka of Tier One Tactical before embarking on the buses for their training sessions.

"All we're trying to do is get you prepared should this day ever come," Zavorka told the assembled drivers.

Zavorka asked the drivers how many adults are typically on a bus. Some said an aide may be present for special needs children, but in most cases, the driver is the only adult.

"When there is a violent situation, you aren't the only person on the bus," Zavorka said. "The students need to be trained on how to respond to these situations."

Zavorka highlighted a FBI study, covering the years from 2000 to 2013, that showed the average national response time by law enforcement to an active shooter scene at three minutes.

But, Zavorka said, the study was based only on a fixed, non-mobile location.

The bus drivers practiced two scenarios at Sparta: the first involved the shooter already being present on the bus, while the second involved the shooter coming onto the bus as part of a group waiting at a bus stop.

As part of the 4E (Educate, Evade, Escape and Engage) training, drivers, while in motion, were instructed to pull the emergency brake, swerve or otherwise attempt to disrupt the shooter's aim or center of gravity long enough for the driver or others to subdue the threat.

Davis was asked what feedback he had received from the drivers about the training.

"It was, frankly, very much appreciated that they are in lock step with what's going on in the schools and given the same consideration," he said.

Davis was asked what the next step was with the Las Vegas event still fresh in people's' minds.

"We continue to annually have these safety plan reviews and discussions," he said. "I know there's some things we do out of convenience when buses are lined up one after another.

"We would like to involve more students, especially at the younger grade levels. We still have the next evolution of the active shooter training to do in all of our schools."

Also during the event, Davis recognized several drivers for their years of service, with a plaque going to Earlene Riechman for her 25 years with Zweigart Bus Service.