School bus drivers navigate tricky course as LCPS renews its Road-e-o competition
A teacher from Pink Hill Elementary took his fellow bus drivers to school Tuesday, walking away with the win in the 2025 edition of the LCPS Road-e-o.
Tony Kopanski, an Exceptional Children’s teacher at Pink Hill and a bus driver there for six years, credited road experience with helping him take the title in only his second try. The first, back in 2019, was the last for LCPS before the coronavirus pandemic forced a pause in what had been an annual competition.
“The first year was a learning experience,” Kopanski said. “I’m a little more confident now in driving and with the mechanics of the bus.”
His low score of 20 bested second-place finisher Michael Whitfield, a teacher assistant and bus driver at EB Frink Middle School for 1½ years, and Brandy Hardy, a teacher assistant and bus driver at La Grange Elementary for six years, who finished third. This was the first Road-e-o for Whitfield and Hardy, both of whom expressed surprise at the results.
“There are some veteran bus drivers here who have been driving a lot longer than I have, so I’m kind of surprised,” Whitfield said. “But the type of route that I have includes everything we did today.”
Ten drivers from five LCPS schools guided a 72-student capacity, 26,000-pound, 36-foot-long bus through seven obstacles, testing their ability to maneuver in tight spaces, back into an enclosed area and come to a stop inches from an obstruction. Officials with the Training and Development Division of the N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles logged the results, deducting for the occasional tipped orange cone.
“It’s always good to assess where your skills are at compared to your peers,” said Cam Coburn, a DMV assistant director who dropped by the Grainger Stadium parking lot to observe the action. “This is a fun way to do that.”
The course was also open to competition for six drivers from Green County Schools. Leslie Perkins, a veteran of 25 years now driving a special needs bus, led the Greene contingent, followed by Roger Monroe and Raymond Lee, both veteran drivers for Greene Central High School.
The top finishers from each county contest – two from Lenoir – qualify for the regional competition, to be held in May in Washington, N.C. The top 10 drivers in that competition are eligible to move on to the state Road-e-o scheduled for June at the N.C. State Fairgrounds.
“Our drivers are nervous and excited,” event organizer Cindy Bruner, LCPS interim transportation director, said as the competition got underway. “This is a good way to boost morale for them and to show North Carolina what Lenoir County has.”
Tony Kopanski, a teacher and school bus driver at Pink Hill Elementary, center, won the LCPS Road-e-o while teacher assistants and drivers Michael Whitfield of EB Frink Middle School finished second and Brandy Hardy of La Grange Elementary finished third. The competition held Tuesday – the first for LCPS since the coronavirus pandemic cancelled the 2020 event – tests drivers’ skills on a course that puts a premium on precision.
Neuse News is a locally-owned small business startup in downtown Kinston. Our goal is to provide free, hyper-local news to Lenoir, Greene and Jones counties. The kind of news our grandparents read in a format fit for today's times.
We provide this by having supportive advertisers and we encourage you to click on their ads, shop with them, and eat with them. Every bit of financial support is important to help us sustain free, hyper-local news.
Please consider supporting Neuse News with as little as $5 one-time or via a monthly option. Every little bit helps us, help you.
