When Oscar Walker talks about school transportation, it quickly becomes clear he knows the work from nearly every angle.

Driver. Trainer. Dispatcher. Safety manager. Business owner. Operations leader.

Now, Walker is bringing more than three decades of transportation experience to Garfield Re-2 as the district’s new Director of Transportation. He takes the reins from Penny Kuper, who resigned earlier this summer.

“I’ve been at every point that you can be in a school bus,” Walker said.

Walker comes to Garfield Re-2 from Wisconsin, where his career has included school transportation operations, training, dispatch, safety management and leadership. He also owned and operated his own school transportation company for about a decade.

That broad experience has given him an appreciation for both the big picture and the details that keep buses safely on the road every day.

“I’m a task-type of person,” Walker said. “Give me a task and I go out and I make it happen.”

With a week under his belt at the Transportation Department, Walker is learning Garfield Re-2’s transportation operation and getting to know the people who make it work. He sees opportunities to strengthen staffing, examine systems and efficiencies, and make thoughtful use of the department’s resources.

For Walker, transportation is ultimately about people.

“I like communication,” Walker said. “Communication’s everything. Talking to people. That’s part of it. Meeting new people, talking, seeing a smile on people’s faces.”

Walker describes himself as approachable and wants employees to know his door is open. He also places a high value on loyalty and believes it has to work both ways. He wants his team to know he will listen, support them and work alongside them, and he expects the same commitment to one another and the students and families they serve.

“We’ve got to do it together,” Walker said.

The move to Garfield Re-2 also represents a change of pace for Walker. After years in the Milwaukee area, he was ready for a change of scenery and a chance to be closer to family in Colorado.

And when he isn’t thinking about buses? There is a very good chance Walker is thinking about bingo.

“I love fishing, and I love bingo and I love cars,” Walker said.

Bingo has been a favorite pastime for more than 30 years. Walker enjoys the chance to sit with people, talk, listen and learn from those around him.

He said moving to Colorado is an opportunity to slow down just a little and enjoy life, although judging from his first few days at Garfield Re-2, “slow” may be relative. He has hit the ground running and is ready to serve.