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Transportation
Transportation
Jack Culpepper
Director of Transportation
jculpepper@pgsd.ms
Darlene Adams
Assistant Director of Transportation
dadams@pgsd.ms
Amy Eubanks
Transportation Secretary
aeubanks@pgsd.ms
Contact Us
Pascagoula Transportation Complex
1102 Dupont Street
228.938.6565
Gautier Transportation Complex
Adjacent to Singing River Academy on Gautier-Vancleave Road
228.522.8828
Our Philosophy
The role of the PGSD Transportation Department is to serve the students of the district for all of their transportation needs. Safety is our priority and we strive to give superior service. We believe safe driving practices coupled with passenger compliance with school bus rules and expectations will create an enjoyable ride for all.
Driver Training
Prospective employees must possess a commercial drivers license with a passenger and school bus endorsement to be eligible to attend a bus driver certification school. Certification schools are taught by personnel from the State Department of Education and consist of classroom instruction as well as behind-the-wheel time. Trainees are instructed in student management, pre-trip inspections, loading/unloading procedures, State/District regulations, and emergency procedures. Before a properly licensed/certified person can drive a school bus, he/she must pass a D.O.T physical, a pre-employment drug/alcohol test administered by the district’s contracting vendor and be fingerprinted so as to secure a background check on them. All school bus drivers attend a minimum of 8 hours safety-related in-service each school year.
Passenger Training
Seventy-five percent of all school bus fatalities occur in “The Danger Zone”-- the twelve feet immediately adjacent to the front, rear, and both sides of a school bus—during the loading and unloading process. Nearly two-thirds of the victims are run over by his/her own school bus; the rest are struck and killed by motorists who fail to stop for the flashing red lights on the bus. Typically, the victim is 5 to 8 years of age and has stopped to retrieve a dropped paper or book, or has run after the bus because he’s left something on board. Safe loading/unloading techniques are heavily stressed in driver training, but nothing can take the place of parental guidance.