Published: Monday, August 20, 2012 1:08 AM CDT

As the school year begins throughout the area, officials are taking precautions to ensure children are safe when they head back for the 2012-13 school year.

In addition to the precautions schools are taking, officials ask parents and citizens to be safe and slow down around school zones as well.

The Yankton School District (YSD) has taken a number of measures to maximize safety for students as they return back for a new school year today (Monday).

One of the main things that has changed from last year is changing the bus pick-up and drop-off location at Webster School because the Pine Street bridge near the school is no longer accessible for buses.

Jason Bietz, business manager of YSD, and Dr. Joe Gertsema, superintendent of the district, remind parents that are picking up their children from school to be observant of things going on around them and to slow down when driving through designated school zones. They added that there will be extra patrols in the school zone areas strictly enforcing the speed regulations posted there.

“Parents and motorists need to slow down and follow speed regulations in school zones,” Bietz added. “Drivers need to also allow enough distance between your car and school buses around the area.”

Another change that was made a few years ago was moving the bus exchange area at Yankton Middle School from the front to the back of the building due to safety issues. Since the change was made, parents now have been able to pick up their children in front of the school, which has been a much safer location.

Tony Anderson, YSD bus supervisor and mechanic, has also made sure buses have been ready to go for students in the new school year.

In the summer Anderson services all buses for YSD, and the Department of Transportation (DOT) conducts its own independent inspections as well.

“They have a sheet and check over the buses from top to bottom,” Anderson said. “They can fail a bus based on a number of different categories.”

Also in the summer, Anderson washes all buses and makes sure they meet the state and federal safety standards for school buses. He also often times hires new bus drivers for the school year.

“All of our bus drivers must be CDL (Commercial Drivers License) tested and passed,” he said. “They also need to have a P & S (passenger and school bus) endorsement.”

In addition, all bus drivers in the district must pass physicals from their doctors. Drivers must also get their physicals taken every year or two after being hired.

However, before the drivers are hired, YSD conducts extensive background checks on potential employees and runs drivers’ fingerprints through the system to make sure they have clean backgrounds.

Anderson also ensures bus safety by having comprehensive training for drivers every few years. South Dakota mandates four hours of bus driver training every five years, but its up to each district to determine if they want to have more training than that.

“Bus driver training can involve anything from written tests, driving tests or videos in the classroom,” he said. “We have also had obstacle courses for drivers to drive their buses through to make sure they are driving safely.”

Another form of training Anderson goes through with drivers is using a fire extinguisher, in case that should be needed in a potential bus emergency. He also takes the drivers through training on First Aid kits and how to properly use all of the equipment found inside the kits.

“There are a lot of things we do here for training our bus drivers,” he said. “We really teach them and go over things we feel we need to touch ground on.”

Anderson and his staff also conduct some training on terrorism and tell bus drivers to be observant of unusual activity in pick up and drop off areas and to be aware of surrounds and any potential unusual packages on the bus.

One of the ways Anderson is able to ensure safety when dropping off and picking up students is through the electronic mapping system that is in place on buses.

“The system maps out the easiest and shortest route for buses to pick up students,” he said. “But sometimes I go through and override the system if a route seems unsafe.”

Anderson also issued a firm warning to motorists driving around school buses.

“I cringe over close calls buses have had because people disregarded the stop signs and flashing lights on the bus,” he said. “We try to identify the vehicles that pass the bus when it’s dropping off or picking up students, and then send a form to the sheriff’s office for review.”

Anderson added, “We always opt for the safety of students on the bus over any potential milage savings.”

Follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal