Students have noticed the absence of Jay True’s quirky announcements at the end of the day or missed his presence in the atrium in the morning. Formerly, True was in charge of managing students, along with many other important tasks behind the scenes. This year, however, Jay True is no longer working at South. 

After 21 years of being one of our assistant principals, True has been moved to the transportation department to help mend the many dilemmas that they are facing. Covid-19 and the economy has negatively impacted the department, resulting in the new schedules for schools under the MCCSC district. They’ve faced a lack of drivers, along with other personnel. The staff members work almost 12-hour shifts, according to True. 

The lack of secretaries is another one of the biggest problems that the transportation department is facing. Parents from every school call about the buses, and True said he “was answering phones for 11 hours,” in addition to doing other jobs. Most transportation workers have to constantly answer phones, drive bus routes, and do their assigned tasks. They have a huge workload, and True urges students to be patient, as they are currently in the process of hiring more bus drivers. True talks about how incredible the staff in the transportation department is. He said, “The people over there are unbelievable. . . they work crazy hard.” 

On top of all this, the transportation department just hired a new Director of Transportation, Scott Waddell. Previously, Waddell was the Director of Transportation for Brown County. With the new director, assistant director, and new drivers, things seem to be looking up for the transportation department as a whole. 

At South, True did not just work with students, he also started Panther Hoops, an after-school basketball league that is open to all students. Along with creating the league and tournament, True also coached two teams, Panther Hoops 1 and Panther Hoops 2. Spencer Waite, a junior who was on the Panther Hoops 1 team since his freshman year, recalls his favorite Panther Hoop memory as when he “hit the game winner shot against one of the girls teams.” He recalls his time on Panther Hoops 1 fondly, and is glad that Panther Hoops is returning for his junior year.

Kaden Armstrong, a junior, is also a dedicated P-Hooper. His team was coached by True last year. “He’s pretty competitive,” Armstrong said of True. “He will push you as a coach. I got better last year because of it.” 

True hopes that he can come back to South next year, as felt like working here “wasn’t a job,” just something that he loved to do. The assistant principal job opening was posted, and there have been many applicants for the position, according to Principal Mark Fletcher.