This Valentine’s Day, Paul and Amanda Stoner, who have been married for one year (but together since forever),are in their first year as Maize USD 266 school bus drivers, and will spend part of their day driving students to and from school. This pair of transportation employees takes #MaizeFamily to a new level. While new to Maize, they  have a combined 44 years working in transportation for other companies. 

They like to work together as a team, both on and off the clock, and said they hope they are a positive influence on the students who sit on their buses each day. 

For both Paul and Amanda, they said that joining the transportation team was an easy choice to make knowing what it’s like not having a ride to or from school. They felt inspired by a relative having a bus route mixup in a different district years ago and decided to do something about it. 

“I made a promise to myself to not let that happen to other kids, and so I became a driver, a promise I’ve kept for 28 years,” Amanda said.  

Paul, a former firefighter, paramedic, and retired truck driver with an impressive million miles under his belt, decided to drive a bus because he wants the students of Maize to feel valued and good about themselves each day.

“When I left the trucking industry, I knew I wanted to stay in transportation, and Maize was a perfect fit for me,” Paul said. “It has good hours, and I get treated like a real person, all while helping kids get to and from school.”

For the couple, working together only seemed natural because of their easy-going relationship. 

“We’ve worked together at other companies, and our relationship just spills over into our working relationship, too,” Amanda said. “We work very well together.”

They spend their mornings picking up students who are ready for the school day, which happens to be their favorite part of the job. 

“The best part of the day is seeing the students and taking them to school,” Paul said. “We claim the students as our own when they are on our buses, whether that’s the beginning or end of the school day.”

For the couple, each day brings about new challenges and successes. They’ve created new friendships amongst the other drivers and gained respect from their coworkers.

Maize USD 266 is always in need of great bus drivers. If interested, visit usd266.com/careers. We would love to have you on our team!