Support Staff of the Year: Tony Betka’s work behind the scenes gets athletes to games

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Monday, May 23, 2016 | 2 a.m.

Tony Betka prides himself on being one phone call away — at any hour — to help local high school athletes get to their games.

Betka, the transportation operation assistant for the Clark County School District, coordinates bus transportation for 36 high schools. And with eight sports being contested in the spring, the district has nearly 50 buses on the roads each night, meaning 12-hour days are the norm for drivers.

Without Betka’s coordination behind the scenes, high school sports here wouldn’t function, wrote Clark High School assistant principal Gena Reagh.

“Tony has been available to us 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” she wrote. “I know that I am able to call him at any hour, and he will do what he can.”

Coaches or school administrators make transportation requests weeks ahead of time, allowing Betka and his staff to keep their calendar current.

“It’s like solving a big puzzle every day,” he said. “The way traffic is, some days it is crazy.”

If a bus breaks down or if there is heavy traffic, Betka has to act like a coach and make an audible. He might need to send another bus to pick up a team or call a school with instructions to delay the start of a game.

Most days everything runs smoothly, though, even if it means Betka is taking a two-way radio to dinner to monitor drivers.