Centerville’s Sontag kept the buses running for 50 years

This summer, Centerville says goodbye to a school district legend.

George Sontag Jr., superintendent of transportation for Centerville City Schools, retires July 31 after 27 years overseeing bus routes, bus drivers, mechanics and buses for the Centerville Schools and several parochial schools.

His time in Centerville, however, is just a portion of his more than 50 years in the school bus business.

TRENDING: Dayton woman wins big on Wheel of Fortune

Known statewide and nationally as a consummate professional when it comes to transporting students, Sontag began his transportation career in a small family-owned garage in Miamiville, Ohio, near Cincinnati.

“I was 13. I had a terrible home life, so I got a job sweeping and doing odd jobs at Miamiville Garage,” Sontag recalled. “Frank Wiederhold and his son Bud forged my path.”

Sontag learned then and there, in that small, family-run garage, that everyone needs good people in their life.

“I worked for them until 1965. I graduated high school in 1958,” he said.

Sontag remembers Frank Wiederhold telling him, “George, whatever it is, we can teach you.”

And it was in that small garage that Sontag learned welding, mechanics, lathing and more.

“No matter how much I screwed up, he kept teaching me. I’ll never forget it,” Sontag said.

That same philosophy has guided Sontag throughout his career.

TRENDING: Good Sam emergency department closing date set

Back in the early 1960s, Miamiville Garage maintained the Indian Hill School District buses. That’s where Sontag became familiar with the inside and outside of a school bus.

Being married and beginning a family, Sontag asked if he could also drive a bus for extra money.

“For about five years, I was a mechanic and a driver for Indian Hill,” Sontag said.

In time, Indian Hill schools decided to build their own garage and hired Sontag to be a mechanic. “Two months later their transportation supervisor left and they hired me. I was the supervisor, a mechanic and drove a bus. I did that until 1974,” he said.

Sontag’s work ethic, attention to detail and good way with people spurred the district on to ask Sontag to also run the cafeteria and building and grounds.

A father of three, Sontag left Indian Hill and became supervisor of transportation for Milford Schools. He stayed there until 1991.

“I had a little side business running a garage at my home and I thought that’s what I’d do in my retirement,” he said. “I was having lunch at home one day in December and I had a call from Alaska asking me to be transportation supervisor. I knew I didn’t want to move to Alaska. Then the same day I received a call from Carmel, Indiana, offering me a position. And right after that, Centerville called,” he recalls.

Sontag arrived in Centerville in 1991 to oversee 162 drivers, four mechanics, office staff, more than 120 buses and over 600 routes.

The business of student transportation has changed significantly since Sontag’s early days.

“I remember drivers smoking cigars on their buses,” he said.

Sontag is proud of the special needs transportation available in Centerville and other districts. “My daughter is a special needs teacher and I have a special needs granddaughter. It’s close to home for me.”

Sontag said there is a national need for qualified bus drivers.

He remembers the day when bus routes were all done by hand. Computers have changed that, but Sontag says the personal touch hasn’t changed.

Sontag, who is at his desk before 5 a.m. and leaves after 5 p.m., has a philosophy that ‘you gotta be here’ when parents, teachers or the public call.

Sontag also believes he has been given a gift from God. “I trust my gut, it has always steered me in the right direction. I know how to treat people and I also know procrastinating gets nothing done,” he said.

He said the best part of his job over more than a half a century has been dealing with all the parents and people.

In March, Sontag was honored by the Ohio Association for Pupil Transportation (OAPT) with its first-ever Lifetime Membership Award. Sontag is a charter member of the OAPT. Sontag also taught the Ohio Highway Patrol how to inspect air brakes when they became standard on school buses.

“I had air brake seminars throughout the state,” he said.

He is recognized nationally as an expert in school bus transportation and has been called to testify as an expert witness in numerous court cases.

Sontag’s official last day is July 31.

He and his wife Barb are planning a cruise with their two sons and their wives. But after that, Sontag may have trouble sleeping in and might sneak a wave at those big yellow buses from time to time. Andy Trick, assistant supervisor of transportation, has been tapped to replace Sontag.

About the Author