Milwaukee Bus Owner Takes Over Garfield Re-2 Transport

Garfield Re-2 named Oscar Walker, a former Milwaukee bus company owner, as its new transportation director. He replaces Penny Kuper, who resigned this summer without a detailed explanation from the district.

Glenwood Springs —Oscar Walker did not come to Garfield Re-2 to manage a fleet. He came because he was tired of the noise in Milwaukee.

The district’s new director of transportation has been a driver, a trainer, a dispatcher, and a business owner. He spent about a decade running his own school transportation company in Wisconsin. Now, he is bringing that resume to the Western Slope. He succeeds Penny Kuper, who resigned earlier this summer.

The Post Independent reported on the hire. Walker’s background is not typical for a district administrator. He has worked every level of the industry.

“I’ve been at every point that you can be in a school bus,” Walker told the Post Independent.

That experience shapes how he views the job. He sees it as a task to be completed, not a title to be held.

“I’m a task-type of person,” he said. “Give me a task and I go out and I make it happen.”

He is about a week into the role. He is learning the operation and meeting the staff. His stated goals are straightforward: strengthen staffing, evaluate systems for efficiency, and use resources thoughtfully. He is not promising a revolution. He is promising work.

Walker emphasizes communication over hierarchy. He wants his door open. He values loyalty, but he insists it must be mutual.

“We’ve got to do it together,” Walker said.

The move west was personal as much as professional. He wanted to be closer to family in Colorado. He also wanted a change of pace.

When he is not thinking about buses, Walker is thinking about bingo. He has played for more than 30 years. He also likes fishing and cars.

“I love fishing, and I love bingo and I love cars,” he said.

He describes the move as a chance to slow down. Given his work ethic, "slow" is likely relative.

The district did not announce a specific budget or fleet size change alongside the hire. They noted Kuper’s resignation but offered no details on why she left. That silence is noteworthy. A director of transportation leaves mid-summer, and the replacement arrives from out of state with a week’s notice.

Walker is ready to serve. The question for locals in Garfield County is whether his approach will change how their kids get to school. Or if it will just keep the same buses running, with a new face in the office.

Walker is here. He is working.