Some of the students who rode on Douglas McCain’s school bus 46 years ago when he first started working for the district still seek him out.

“They know where I live,” says McCain, a field supervisor who now manages one of the district’s four bus yards. “Sometimes, they pull up and honk and yell, ‘Hey, old man. Come out here.’ It doesn’t get any better than that.”

McCain sometimes advises his friends to tell their kids and grandkids that if they do something wrong on a school bus he might show up, “and they will have an issue.”

Former students and colleagues of McCain know he is a reliable and respected school employee who knows how to handle people problems with discretion.

“A parent had a problem with a driver and was going to go directly to him,” says McCain. “But her mom told her to call me to take care of it, which I did.”

When McCain learns that a driver is doing something wrong, like speeding, he contacts them directly to talk it over in private.

“Most respect me for that,” he says. “The ones who don’t correct their mistakes aren’t here anymore. It catches up with you.”

He also gets respect for being the first person on the job every morning.

“I start answering phones at 4 a.m.,” he says. “Drivers call to tell me they won’t be coming in, or a parent might call to let me know their child will be staying home. I have to make sure each day that we get everyone to school in a timely manner.”

For this operation to work, McCain says you need good people. And this is what keeps him going: the good drivers he works with every day, even after almost five decades on the job.

“There are only two types of problems I will not tolerate from drivers,” he says. “If you come through the gate and I see you impaired, you’re a done deal. If you go out the gate and start a personal relationship with one of the kids, you’re a done deal. I’ll look a driver in the face and tell them that. On other things, I’ll try to help you. Most drivers respect that.”

McCain is a member of the Education Support Employees Association, which represents ESPs in Las Vegas and surrounding areas of Nevada.

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