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.

Four years ago, when Garfield Re-2 asked students, families, staff, and community members what every graduate should know beyond reading, writing, and math, the answers were consistent.

The community wanted graduates who could communicate effectively, solve problems, work well with others, adapt to change, lead with confidence, and persevere through challenges.

Those conversations helped shape the district's Strategic Plan and, more importantly, the Portrait of a Graduate - a community-defined vision of the knowledge, skills, and characteristics every Garfield Re-2 student should develop before graduation.

The Garfield Re-2 Board of Education approved a $90.3 million budget for the 2026-27 school year June 24. The budget continues a long-term strategy of investing in employees while reducing the district's planned General Fund deficit.

Three years ago, the Board approved a four percent increase to the district's salary base while preserving annual step-and-lane increases. District leaders knew the decision would require temporary, significant deficit spending, and they created a long-term plan to gradually return the district's operating budget toward balance.