Rural schools have pluses, minuses

By ISAAC CONSTANS
Capital News Service
LANSING — Paul Shoup begins many winter days at 4 a.m. Starting his car, he embarks on a long and sometimes precarious loop through his more than 200-square-mile school district as part of a winter morning road check. As transportation director for Mason County Eastern schools, Shoup delivers the go-ahead to school bus drivers that the route is safe enough to pick up children. That’s his job – at least until the school day starts and Shoup resumes his other job as superintendent. “That’s pretty normal,” Shoup said. “If we have to be able to make that call to get the kids, I have bus drivers that need to know.