Parked next to the Trigg County Schools Co-Curricular building Friday afternoon, staff, faculty and curious visitors got to take a sneak peek at the district’s new Early Learning “Wildcats On Wheels” bus — catching a glimpse of what’s coming for the community’s youngest students.
Director of Special Education Mandy Bird said she gets emotional when talking about the school’s newest tool, but thanked the current and previous Board of Education administrations — both of which supported the full pursuit of a grant opportunity from the Kentucky Department of Education and the Office of Special Education and Early Learning to turn this bus from concept to concrete.
Trigg Tots Director Molly Oliver said the district is still exploring a number of safe locations across the county where the bus could be parked, but several hot spots are going to be in the rotation.
So fun is the bus, that board member and former Trigg County educator Charlene Sheehan’s grandson managed a cute tantrum — before being hauled off in grandma’s wagon.
Complete with dry-erase walls, a reading station, a “kitchenette,” light tables and an open play area, the bus also comes with a slide out of the back emergency exit and an awning — where a sheltered outdoor area can be good for kids and adults, alike.
Named after his daughter, Abbi, Bryant Stevenson runs Abbico Contracting out of Breckenridge County. Trigg County’s bus, he said, is his company’s 10th such creation — having already created these custom rides for Fayette County, Menifee County, Floyd County and Christian County, with orders from Allen County and Warren County already in the shop.
The wrap itself — a black-and-white, kid-friendly design — took 13 of his staffers, and several hours, to complete.
To be clear, this bus is more like a mobile home, and isn’t rider-friendly. Stevenson said most of his orders are converted retired models, where he puts in new flooring, new walls, new electric panels and wiring, a generator, fresh paint, and top-down air-conditioning units in the ceiling safety hatches.
Start to finish, he added the refitting takes about four months.
