A Mary G. Clarkson staff member (name not specified) told the Bay Shore Union Free School District board on Oct. 22 that the primary-school initiative "Battle of the Buses" uses positive incentives to reduce unsafe behavior on student bus runs.

The program began after staff identified frequent bus dismissal referrals; the presenter said, "we were averaging about 2 to 3 a week." School staff formed a positive-bus committee to focus on teaching respectful bus riding and to replace purely punitive responses with recognition and rewards.

Jackie Pasquerella, the school’s physical education teacher, described the initial incentive: bus drivers distributed "bus bucks," small cash awards, into color-coded containers for each bus. "Every bus driver is going to get a stack of dollar bills. Bus box. And when you see a kid doing a great job ... you're gonna give them a dollar," Pasquerella said. The immediate, tangible reward was meant to create visible reinforcement for students.

Dr. Kirsten Hall, the school psychologist, described a second-year shift to a live digital tracking system after staff found the physical bus boxes required frequent replenishment and lost some of the immediacy that kept students engaged. "With the move to having it on the computer ... it's a shared drive, so everyone has access to it now," Dr. Hall said, explaining teachers can post points on classroom smart boards and students watch a live bar graph that updates as points are entered.

Results presented to the board show a reduction in recorded bus-discipline reports: 78 reports in 2023–24 for kindergarten through grade 2, 34 reports in 2024–25 (with 24 occurring September–December and 10 after a January relaunch), and four reports so far in 2025–26. The presenters noted most recent incidents involved kindergarten students new to buses.

School staff said the program also encourages students to greet drivers and practice basic safety such as remaining seated and buckling when asked. The weekly celebration includes a public announcement of winners, a parade with a "golden bus" trophy that the winning bus displays, and classroom recognition that ties into lessons such as second-grade graphing.

Board members asked about consistency of driver participation and fairness. One board member asked whether some drivers were "really generous with the bus box and some ... a little, like, stingy." Presenters said they track distribution and attempt redistribution and coaching with drivers when patterns arise.

The presenters said they have shared footage and will reach out to Suffolk Transportation; Ricky Galindo, the school's new social worker, took the video used during the presentation.

School staff framed the initiative as a low-cost, relationship-focused approach that relies on staff and driver buy-in and visible feedback to students. They asked only for board acknowledgement while they continue to monitor the program.