The following was presented by Shea Hicks, Transportation Coordinator, at the May 2026 Board Meeting:
OPS Transportation has always been blessed to have drivers and monitors who work diligently each day to serve our students, schools, and each other. Rodney Alderton embodies this example.
Alderton has been an employee of OPS since April 2018. Over the past eight years of his service, he has left a lasting mark on students and fellow coworkers.
Each year, the transportation staff votes on a driver or monitor they believe best embodies the OPS spirit within the transportation department. During this process, multiple names will show up and often there will be two or three employees that receive the most votes. This year, Alderton received so many votes, I honestly considered giving up counting.
This overwhelming consensus of selecting him as our 2025-26 Transportation Employee of the Year reflects the lasting impact he has made on his coworkers in how he cares for them and does his job. you can see this same feeling from the students who ride his bus. He knows them by name and shows compassion and respect to each of them.
Alderton reflects the bond of family that we need and must have as we work together in unity. Thank you, Rodney, for your example of service.