By Carrie A. Mizell
After 13 years as a Gilchrist County school bus driver, Tina Thomas still laughs when she thinks back on her first day behind the wheel of a 40-foot long yellow dog.
“I was scared to death! I went to training in Gainesville and I remember just being terrified,” Thomas said. “I thought, there is no way I can drive a big ‘ol bus!”
An overwhelming love for children prompted the mother of two to continue training and get a job as a school bus driver.
“I have always loved children, but I don’t have the education to be a teacher,” Thomas said. “So a family member suggested I train to be a school bus driver.”
Though her days start at 6:35 a.m. when she leaves her house and end at 4:30 p.m. when she drops off her last child, Thomas said she gets up every morning and can honestly say she loves her job.
Despite the fact that the 60 or so children who ride her bus to and from Bell schools on weekdays call her “Mean Miss Tina” for her strict school bus rules, Thomas said she has the best kids in Gilchrist County riding on bus #55.
Students range in age from 3-years-old and still riding in a safety seat to pre-k, to high school seniors; and Thomas also has an autistic child riding on her bus.
“I am responsible for 77 lives, because that’s what my bus will hold,” Thomas said. “I give the kids respect, and I expect to get respect in return. I want to be able to look at the parents and say, ‘I did the very best I could for your child.”’
While other bus drivers may be lax in their rules, Thomas said she won’t allow students riding on her bus to get up and walk around on the bus for fear she might have to slam on brakes and they might end up in the front windshield. She also has a no candy policy on the bus because as she explained, she has too many children to watch over by herself and doesn’t want to have to worry about someone choking.
“If we have a problem on the bus I say, ‘Do I need to call your momma, or is this something we can handle?”’ Thomas explained, “and that usually takes care of it.”
When school starts on August 22, Thomas will begin her 14th year as a school bus driver. Her route will begin in the Emerald Farms subdivision in northeast Gilchrist County, continue down County Road 138 to the Ginnie Springs area and down State Road 47 to County Road 340 where she will turn and take US 129 into Bell, dropping off students at Bell High School and Bell Elementary School.
Once she drops her last students at school, Thomas gets off the bus herself at Bell Elementary School and her second job of the day, working in the school’s cafeteria.
“The kids just can’t get away from me!” Thomas said.
Working in the Gilchrist County School District has been a blessing for Thomas, who said it has allowed her to be at school when her own two children were at school.
“I’ve just had the best experience,” Thomas said. “When people ask me, I tell them I have 60 kids, because I feel like I do.”