YORBA LINDA : Family Ties Strong in Bus-Driving Corps

As the daughter of former Brea Police Capt. Larry Baker, Dawn Baker knew growing up in Yorba Linda that her behavior would be held to a high standard.

But it was her mother’s occupation that made it nearly impossible for her to even jaywalk without word getting back to her parents.

Beverly Baker, a school bus driver for the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District, said her colleagues often reported back to her about her children’s doings around town.

“Dawn had no place to get into trouble,” Baker said.

“If the cops didn’t see you, the bus drivers would,” Dawn Baker added.

These days, Dawn Baker, 23, is doing the observing, having followed in her mother’s tire tracks with a job as a school bus driver.

Beverly Baker began driving a school bus 18 years ago, the same year Dawn started kindergarten in the district.

“Dawn grew up in the bus yard, riding on these buses with many of these drivers,” Baker said.

Keeping tabs on her daughter was easy then. And now that Dawn logs her daily goings-on into a computer at the depot, Beverly still knows what her daughter is up to.

Sitting behind the wheel of their respective yellow buses, the two women share a strong resemblance, with the same hair color, the same smile and a similar stature.

The Bakers are one of four family units who have multiple members in the bus-driver corps.

The others are: sisters Renee Wallace and Sandra Minter; Martin and Sandra Zepeda, husband and wife; and Patricia Jarnigan, mother of Carrie Jarnigan and Christy Havlu.

The family ties help create a family atmosphere among drivers, said Charles Bednar, supervisor of pupil transportation.

“This job requires a lot of cooperation among drivers, and having family units helps foster that,” Bednar said.

Parents and other relatives can also help new drivers learn the unwritten lore that governs bus drivers, from how to deal with a reluctant kindergartner on the first day of school to detecting spitballs without looking away from the road.

Dawn Baker said watching her mother drive a bus for 18 years made it easier to learn the job and gave her the confidence to take on responsibility for 84 young passengers.

“My driver trainer said she couldn’t believe how quickly I picked up on the skills,” Baker said.

“It was from watching my mom, the way she handled the bus. I have strong memories of her turning that steering wheel.”

And while Beverly drives middle school students, Dawn ferries around elementary and high schoolers.

“I like middle school students, because they are old enough to know what they should and shouldn’t do but they aren’t these macho high schoolers,” Beverly said.

Dawn, however, prefers her passengers.

“The little guys are more vulnerable to taking orders, they don’t talk back yet,” Dawn said. “And the high school students just want to get to school or get home.”