Should every state’s governor have a model school bus in his or her office?  Dirk Kempthorne thinks it would be a good idea.

While Kempthorne (at left in photo) was governor of Idaho, Rodney McKnight and Ray Merical of the state Department of Education presented him a wooden bus from the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT). At right is Barry McCahill, a former National Highway Traffic Safety Administration official who works with NAPT and is a comrade of Kempthorne’s.

The benefit of the bus, Kempthorne says, was that it was a constant reminder of children.

“So much of the role and responsibility of a governor is to do what’s right for children,” he says. “So I thought that was probably the best reminder of my responsibility, to have that school bus right in my office.”

Furthermore, he adds, “There probably ought to be one in every governor’s office.”

To read SBF’s exclusive Q&A with Kempthorne, check out the upcoming September issue. The former senator, governor and secretary of the Interior shares his insights on such topics as school budgets, alternative fuels and unfunded mandates.

Also, be sure to catch Kempthorne as he delivers a keynote address at this year’s NAPT Summit, to be held Oct. 31 through Nov. 5 in Louisville, Ky.

— Thomas McMahon, Executive Editor