(EDITOR’S NOTE: Della Swain, Warsaw Community Schools current director of transportation, is retiring this year. Word has it that the job has been promised to current transportation secretary Cheryl Cook, an individual who some say is not the best replacement. The following letter addresses the issue.)

Dear Editor,

It is not how Cheryl Cook presents herself in the community that worries me, it is how she presents herself in the workplace that gives me reason to believe that she is not the appropriate candidate for this position.

I have seen Cheryl be very gruff with people at times and not listen to the drivers and their concerns. It is not a team at all with the full-time office staff.

Also she does not dedicate herself to that office when she is there. Her biggest duties at that office are payroll and the routing software. I can tell you that payroll does not take more than 15 minutes a day to do. It takes a chunk of her day once every two weeks. As far as the routing software, I do not recall a time where all the drivers had current route info. Several would go all year without it. I do know that sitting at her desk and playing solitaire and talking non work related issues with other workers in the office fills a big chunk of her day.

But that is not even my main concern. My main concern is the relationship between the office staff and the drivers. The office staff for some reason have this belief that when a driver walks into the office “they just expect us to drop what we are doing and cater to them” attitude. I have seen it many times. That is not what a driver expects at all. They understand how some of the staff in that office work very hard and are very busy a lot of the time. But instead they are told “it will be put in your box.” Then when you come for it, it is not there. So you ask again. It is without a doubt an “us versus them” attitude that has been created by the office staff. These are the things that concern me about the future director.

There needs to be “new blood” in there. If a current office person gets that position, nothing will change. Della did a great job as a director. I am sure that she will be missed. But I will say that she has created a hostile work environment by allowing the office staff too much control and not keeping them grounded.

There is another misconception that the office staff drive buses all the time. That is not true! The mechanics are the very first ones to have to drive when they are short on drivers. Understandably, the office staff is the last to have to drive. And while there have been times that the office staff have driven regularly, they never drive all the time. So having to drive routes for drivers has nothing to do with things not getting done in the office.

It is my understanding that recently the state was reviewing the transportation department and came to the conclusion that they are understaffed in the office. Speaking as someone who has seen this department in action on many days when they are not being watched, I disagree with them being understaffed. I believe they need to prioritize the way things are done. And people need to take responsibility for their own duties.

I can tell you that they can afford to go without having two administrative assistants in that office during the summer. One of the office workers said it best one summer when she said “we work hard all school year, this is our time to take it easy.” Well, that they do. Then they hire drivers to come in and work in the office during the summer while they “take it easy.” I bet the school could save a big chunk of money by just cutting out one administrative assistant in the summer.

With all this being said. I have to ask this question: Do you want someone in there that is going to do as little as possible to get through until retirement, or do you want a go-getter that is going to make the changes that benefit the School system and not the comfort of the office staff?

Lonnie Bagshaw
via email