Scott 2 students know Sue Hart as their bus driver, as their supporter in the high school band, or as their cafeteria worker. To Hart, all her jobs have one focus: the students.
“I want to make a difference in a kid’s life,” Hart said. “Those kids are my kids.”
For more than 20 years, Hart has treated the students of Scott County School District 2 as they were her own children.
As a bus driver, Hart starts her route on State Road 356, making stops on Double or Nothing Road, Jimtown Lane, and McNeely Road. By the time she drops them off at school, Hart has about 30 students on her bus.
“I’ve had this route for 23 years,” Hart said. “They start school with me and graduate with me.”
When the students get on Hart’s bus in the morning, they share what they did that weekend or the night before. Through years of interaction, Hart learns all about the students on her bus route. After they graduate from high school, some of them keep in touch with their favorite bus driver and one even invited her to their wedding.
“I ran into a boy at a restaurant [near Indianapolis],” Hart said.
Hart said the former bus rider had some discipline issues on her bus and had to sit in the front seat. When he saw Hart in the restaurant, he reflected on the things he did on the bus and said to her, “I have kids now, I understand.”
As former band parents, Hart and her husband thought it was important to continue to help the high school band even though their children graduated.
“Now, our kids are graduated. We still do it for them. We do it because of the kids,” Hart said.
Hart and her husband help the band by driving the trailer the marching band uses to haul their equipment to and from their competitions. They take the students to and from the competition by driving the bus, and the couple also helps at the Scott County Fair, where the band sells food to raise money for equipment and uniforms.
As the former manager of the Scottsburg High School cafeteria for 18 years, Hart would interact with the students each day as they went through the lines for their meals during breakfast and lunch times. As the manager, Hart learned from the seasoned staff members, who had dedicated years to the cafeteria and the students. Together, they would plan meals for the next day and would prepare for banquets being held at the school.
“It was like a family. I loved working with the employees and with the kids,” Hart said.
However, Hart’s health forced her to retire two years ago from the SHS cafeteria. She was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“There’s no way I could have worked and went through what I went through,” Hart said.
It was during an annual mammogram when doctors found something wrong.
“I had no family history of breast cancer,” Hart said. “I started getting mammograms at 40.”
After the mammogram found the potential cancerous area, the area was biopsied to confirm Hart had breast cancer. Once doctors delivered the confirmed what the mammogram found, Hart started one of the four sessions of chemotherapy she had to eradicate the cancer from her body. The chemotherapy was followed by 21 sessions of radiation treatments.
“The people at Norton Cancer Institute in Jeffersonville are great people. You become like family,” Hart said. “My cancer was caught very early. Everyone needs to have mammograms.”
Now, Hart is in remission and is cancer free.
And, she’s back to work at Scott 2 as the district food service coordinator. In her new position as district food service coordinator, Hart still has an opportunity to interact with the students.
“I love going out to the elementary schools. I love interacting with them,” Hart said. “It’s all about the kids.”
As district food service coordinator, Hart plans menus according to federal and state guidelines and handles the free and reduced meals applications.
“[This job] is something I’ve always wanted to do,” Hart said.
At Scott County School District 2, Hart’s story is our story. Your story matters. You matter.