Jason Johnson is the equipment service manager for Horseheads Central School District and Elmira Heights Central School District in New York state. He recently won the Tech of the Year award from the New York Association for Pupil Transportation. He has been a member of the New York Head Mechanics Association since 2007 and has been personally working with school buses since 2003. After being asked to run for president of the mechanic’s association in 2013, he became involved in different state meetings at their local districts and started to create various training for all school bus mechanics up until 2020.
The purpose of the New York Head Mechanics Association is to hold monthly meetings for local districts and contractors in need of training. As of last year, Johnson stepped down from his position; however, he continues to motivate his peers to join the association. From his perspective, it is very important to attend to training sessions since you can never get enough of them.
He aims to have conversations with STN EXPO Indianapolis attendees about the importance of staying up to date with computer programs, and the ins and outs of calibration and bus operations, since this industry is constantly changing. In his opinion, the biggest challenges and opportunities for the team as they head into a new school year are parts availability, ensuring everyone is safe regarding OVID-19 and having the buses ready for the students.
