Key player: Patty Pauley

JOB TITLE: Transportation director, Cabell County Schools.

HOMETOWN: Barboursville.

EDUCATION: Attended Barboursville Elementary, Barboursville Junior High and Barboursville High School; earned a bachelor's degree in education and a master's degree in safety management from Marshall University.

CAREER: Has worked in the transportation department since 1982, starting as a secretary; promoted to supervisor in 1988; promoted to transportation director in 1995.

MEMBERSHIPS AND AFFILIATIONS: Past president and current treasurer of West Virginia Association for Pupil Transportation, Lewis Memorial Baptist Church.

FAMILY: Husband, Richard; son, Shannon, and his wife, Tara, and grandson, Owen; daughter, Myra, and husband, Bryan, and grandchildren, Ben and Carmen, all of whom live in Teays Valley.

JOB DESCRIPTION: She oversees the transportation department -- 102 bus operators, 17 bus aides, eight mechanics, one coordinator, one supervisor, one secretary -- for Cabell County Schools, which means interviewing drivers and mechanics, purchasing, insurance and behavioral issues on buses. But she said her ultimate job "is to see that all the children in this county get to and from school safely."

WHAT'S CHANGED THE MOST SINCE SHE STARTED IN THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT: "The school buses have changed dramatically," she said. "They are like Cadillacs compared to what they used to be."

WHAT PAULEY TELLS NEW DRIVERS: "Never will you find a job with more responsibility or gratification because every day you are impacting the lives of children."

ON MANNING WHAT SOME HAVE CALLED THE TOUGHEST POSITION IN CABELL COUNTY SCHOOLS: "This is a tough job, and I've had people tell me this is the toughest job," she said. "We have a huge responsibility to keep the children safe."