Getting Off the Bus
Wharton students learn how to evacuate buses safely in an emergency
By BENJAMIN C. SHARP bensharp@journal-spectator.com

Staff Photo by Benjamin Sharp Ray Mejorado shows high school students one of the first aid items found on a bus.

There's more than one exit on a bus, and Wharton Independent School District students now know how to use them - safely.

The district on Monday wrapped up a series of bus evacuation drills that involved every student from elementary age to high school.

Held over the last couple of weeks at each campus, the sessions included classroom lessons and hands-on practice regarding proper bus evacuation and how to avoid panic during an emergency.

Dr. Galen Privitt, district director of auxiliary services, said the training was mandated by the Texas Legislature.

Every district in the state must hold such instruction twice a year.

"Every student and teacher and just about every school employee who might actually be on a bus for any reason at anytime is required to go through the training," he said.

Privitt believes it's a good practice.

"In the event we do have a problem, we will have presumably everyone in that bus with a firm understanding of what to do," he said.

"We shouldn't have any kids running and screaming."

The training begins with a 20-minute video that covers everything from potential emergencies and the four ways to exit a bus to the role of the bus driver as "boss" and decision maker of the vehicle.

After that, students board a parked bus and go over the safety tips and practice getting off.

Ray Mejorado, the district's safety coordinator, conducted the sessions on Monday with the help of the maintenance staff.

A former Department of Public Safety trooper, Mejorado walked high school students through the front, rear, side and top exits; the first aid kit; the fire extinguisher; how to make an emergency phone call using the bus driver's two-way radio and how to quickly - yet safely - get out when an emergency occurs.

Mejorado later said the instruction is invaluable, especially in the case of a campus-wide evacuation that would require all students to board a bus.

"There's some students that don't ride the bus normally and they have to know what to expect to do. It's for their safety," Mejorado said.

"That's what it's designed to do - mitigate the panic," Privitt added.