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After 31 years working in transportation for the Lake Pend Oreille School District, Shelly Johnson knows just about everything a person could about transporting students.

As transportation manager, Johnson handles payroll, dispatches for morning and afternoon bus routes, fills in driving on busy days, schedules bus routes and every sports trip in the district, makes purchase orders, organizes staff events and more while serving as a listening ear, and a place to come to for advice, to the roughly 50 staff members she manages.

“She knows every function of this department backward and forwards,” said Director of Transportation James Koehler. “She’s been my right-hand person ever since I started.”

In addition to her vast knowledge and ability to handle dozens of tasks, staff in the transportation department have come to rely on her for her vibrant personality and critical thinking skills in stressful situations.

“Bus driving can be a high-demand, stressful job,” Koehler said. “If they have a stressful situation, I think having Shelly on the other end of that radio really helps them feel confident.”

But no matter how apparent her contributions are to the rest of the team, Johnson said she was shocked when she found out this year that she was named as the Idaho State Department of Education Best Transportation Supervisor.

“I think my chin is still bruised from when it hit the floor,” Johnson said.

The past year has proved especially challenging for school transportation departments across the state, she said. Many of the normal bus drivers quit or took a leave of absence because they were in a high-risk category for COVID-19.

On several occasions Johnson found herself behind the wheel to fill in. It’s something she’s familiar with, having spent 14 of her 31 years at the district driving a bus, but it also showed how bare-bones the department was some days.

“You know it’s bad if I’m behind the wheel, because I’m pretty good at scheduling pretty efficiently,” she said. “It was a lot of, ‘how can we make this work today?’”

Throughout those challenges, Koehler said, Johnson managed to keep all 800 students taking school transportation safe, and remained a resource for employees to talk, vent and ask for advice.

In his nomination for Johnson, Koehler wrote that Johnson, in addition to her technical proficiency, was highly respected for her leadership by example and “firm and fair” management of employees.

“She knows how to make the ‘Bus Barn’ feel like a second home to the school bus drivers,” he wrote. “She helps organize events such as potluck lunches, holiday parties, and other events that help keep morale high and foster strong coworker relationships.”

Despite the challenges of the past year, Johnson said being able to safely transport students and work with the drivers and other district staff to make things work was worthwhile.

“To be able to encourage and be really proud of my drivers is really rewarding — they make my job easier,” she said.

Most people ask her when she’s planning to retire, she said, but she’s still planning to stay for a while longer.

“I love my job,” she said, “and I love working.”

Beyond the transportation department, Koehler said, Johnson’s work and positive attitude is felt by the students and educators district-wide.

“Her interactions with all of the secretaries at the schools, the principals — I think she has a humongous impact on every single school in the district,” he said.