Starting Salary $50,627.20

The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) is the State Education Agency for the District of Columbia charged with raising the quality of education for all DC residents. The Division of Student Transportation is responsible for administering safe, reliable, and efficient transportation services for students with disabilities that require it under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). OSSE-DOT provides services for more than 3100 students to schools along nearly 500 bus routes, traveling more than 27,000 miles per day.

The mission of OSSE DOT is to provide safe, reliable, and efficient transportation services that positively support learning opportunities for eligible students from the District of Columbia. This position is located in the Fleet Management Department.

Specific functions of the Fleet Maintenance Assistant (Operator):

Operates and maintains gasoline or diesel-powered vehicles, most of which are equipped with air brakes, and a gross weight of26,000 pounds and more. Motor vehicles include school buses, shuttle vans, and cars. Drives vehicles either on a trip basis or upon regular established schedule(s): to vendor DMV inspections, breakdowns, accidents, incidents and/or personnel.

Conducts verification inspection on all buses submitted for maintenance to verify and validate complaints submitted by staff. Conducts, on a needed basis, all scheduled Preventive Maintenance Inspections (PMI) on fleet vehicles and coordinates the bus services to the appropriate vendor.

Routinely monitors for adequate gasoline or diesel supply, proper oil level, battery condition and similar items and checks presence and usability of assigned equipment, such as tools, fire extinguishers, and first aid kits. Jump starts buses if needed and performs minor operator maintenance repairs such as replacing light bulbs, lens, fluids, etc., to expedite the route coverage.

Assists Mechanics with heavy lifting and making repairs requiring the efforts of two persons. Transports fleet vehicles to DC Inspections (DCI) and maintains inspection records to reflect this activity. Acts as a liaison with management regarding responses to breakdowns and/or accidents and implement resolutions to the urgent demands. Analyzes, reviews, maintains and prepares accurate reports of all vehicles assigned to the terminal daily fleet inventory report, daily summary report, weekly fuel log, monthly audit report, breakdown accident weekly report, and additional reports as requested.

Maintains records of the exact location of buses at repair facilities and the purposes for which the buses were sent to the repair facilities (i.e. PMI, DCI, other repairs). Maintains spare bus inventory and assigns replacement buses when assigned buses are out of service. Ensures that adequate buses are available at the terminals to meet route requirements. Coordinates with the Terminal Management for the replacement of buses that are scheduled for maintenance (PMI/DCI) services. or whenever a bus is removed from service.

Prepares daily (AM & PM) reports on the total number of buses, buses available for service, and buses in the repair shop by location; and submits these reports to the Terminal Management. Analyzes and manages the pre and post trips inspection forms to determine level of services required to maintain on the road performance, in addition to identifying mechanical or safety related malfunctions.

Initiates work orders for all necessary repairs and maintains current and accurate data in the fleet data management system. Maintains, secures, and serves as the point of contact for all spare keys, including but not limited to, school bus keys, van keys, fuel keys and other related keys based on job function. Responsible for logging and tracking fuel usage in the Fleet Data Management system.

Key Qualifications and skills:

• Must possess and maintain a valid and unexpired Commercial Driver License. Both Passenger (P) and school bus (S) endorsements are required;
• Must maintain a valid Department of Transportation (DOT) physical card;
• Comprehensive knowledge of how to operate, secure, and control large vehicles with or without heavy loads;
• Ability to make judgments concerning overhead and side clearances, the turning radius, braking distance, manipulating hydraulic controls, and the distance to be maintained from other vehicles because of the height, width, length, and weight of the vehicle;
• Ability to analyze and make difficult judgments concerning loading, arranging cargo, clearances, turning radius, braking distance, and distance to maintain from a preceding vehicle, based on the height, width, length, and weight of the vehicle;
• Skill in using the brakes and gearshift controls when going down steep grades due to heavier vehicles and/or heavy loads;
• Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective safety operations.

Other Significant Factors:

This position is designated as a Safety Sensitive position and is subject to mandatory pre-employment and periodic Criminal Background Checks and Traffic Records Checks (as applicable). This position is also subject to mandatory pre-employment and random Drug and Alcohol Testing, including for marijuana. In this position, you may be disqualified from employment based on the presence of marijuana in test results, even if you possess a medical card authorizing the use of medical marijuana.

Interested applicants should register for the DOT Hiring Fair.