Out of control bus, and driver

I can't imagine the aggravation bus drivers go through on a daily basis. Having said that if I were you I'd try to talk to the bus driver, just because there is some bad language used doesn't mean the person might not look out for your Grandson a little more, especially if they realize you could take your complaint to their boss for the bad language.  Again, you gotta remember what these people put up with between kids and traffic. If the bad language is something you really feel should be reported, I would go to the transportation dept for the school.  I had a situation a few years ago with a driver who was wreckless and that is where I got results.  See the Principal for the bullying. In this day and age you don't know how the other parent will react and that can actually make things harder on your Grandson. 

If the Governor signs that bullying law you will have something more in your corner.

I hate how kids can be so mean and everyone sits around and says "kids will be kids" How many have to grow up and become mass murderers before we realize this sort of behavior is not a right of passage for a child.

http://24.23.126.8/ Sign the petition for choice in Nov 7 Commissioners or 5.

Winn

Call all of the following, without delay: principal, head of transportation, and Superintendent David Owens. As a parent, I would also call school board members.

1. There's a very big safety issue going on here. Children that are allowed to be so disruptive are putting all at risk.

2. Apparently this driver cannot control children and has allowed the situation to escalate to this point.

3. This driver has no business speaking to children this way. It has probably happened many times before and you're just now hearing about it. You have the right to see in writing the reprimand or action taken by the school system regarding the driver.  bus

4. The children were indeed out of control. The safe and appropriate action of the bus drive from the very first day of school would have been to make no threats, but turn the bus around and take the children back to school. The principal would issue the reprimand to the students. If the behavior happened again, parents would be responsible for transporting their child to school for a few days. 

5. What should be an important concern is that your child was bullied not only by the bus driver, but the 10 year old hitting and teasing your grandson. Bullying is not tolerated. You have the right to know exactly what steps the principal and David Owens will take TODAY to see that your grandson will not be bullied again by the bus driver and the 1o year old bully. At the very least, the bully should lose his bus transportation privileges and receive some sort of discipline as is spelled out in the Code of Student Conduct. What he did was assault. 

In my previous life and in another country, parents of children in a Department of Defense school were required to sign up for two days of bus monitor duty.  That parent rode the bus in the morning and afternoon, no excuses.  If parents continuously "forgot" then their kids could no longer ride the bus.  Granted this was in a military environment with much more control, but let me tell you - whether you were a private or a Colonel - you did not forget your day as a bus monitor. 

Maybe we should do that in Clay County? 

To think that some parents would whine about 2 days out of their quest for riches to do a community service and get to know their kids and friends might be too much to ask.

Marsh, Pioneer, CCC,

This seems like yet another sad chapter, not only in the many stories one hears @ what goes on in school buses, but general bad behavior, not to mention the breaking of several laws.  I don't have children & have never used a school bus system so what I know is from news stories & what I hear from parents. 

In grade school, I walked to school.  In high school, I took the city bus system, the CTA.  One incident proved to teach some miscreants a lesson.  After a minor brawl started, the bus driver stopped the bus, went up to the instigators & asked, "Who wants to be the first?"  One of the smart aleks thought the bus driver was going to grab him & said he would have his parents arrest him.  The bus driver told him no such luck.  He told them that while they were brawling, they failed to notice the police car behind the bus on regular patrol.  He said that the cop was going to wonder why the bus was stopped in the middle of the block & he would gladly tell him why.  Thus ended the lesson.  Peace was restored.

Marsha, I hope you're right @ the new anti bullying law.  But my gut feeling is that it might only scratch the surface.  Bullying, in one form or another has a long, very long history.  Then there's the other side of the coin.  Where there's a will, there's a way.  I'm afraid that the junior terrorists will just find another way to commit their acts & get away with it just as adult criminals do.  Not a hopeful picture.

Pioneer,  Those are great points from which to start.

CCC, great idea.  But I think you're right & there would probably be some parents that would raise holy hell.  I also think it would be difficult to enforce.  But I still like the idea.

RichK

Solo;

I read the article in the TU about the new law. As part of the article four young people were asked what they thought of it.

One of the responses was chilling at best. 'I know it's the right thing to do, but I probably wouldn't turn someone in'.

How can we stop this or any crime if we can't get our young people to see that it is to their benefit to see that the laws are followed?

Mike Heemer http://24.23.126.8/ Petition for choice (5 or 7) in Nov.

I realize being a school bus driver, in these days, must be a very frustrating experience with very little monetary rewards.  However, speaking to those kids as she did is totally unacceptable, and should be reported.  Perhaps, as someone else said, maybe talking to her about the bullying would somewhat help your little grandson.  But, honestly, I doubt it.  Good luck to you; thank God there are parents and in your case, grandparents, who are watching out for the children.  Oftentimes, this is not the case.  Some of those older kids probably hear that language at home, and think nothing of it therefore don't report to their parents. 

My child will be on a bus next school year. From what I hear from mom with olders kids that ride currently is that lunch money is stolen, kids are harrased by other kids, and personal items are stolen. I will not tolerate any of these things happening to my kid. I will put him on the bus trusting in the fact that he will be safe, but they better not even attempt to harm harrase or steal from him cause I will be riding the bus, or taking him to school every day.

Fair warning has been issued. I will be at every school board meeting, me and my big mouth until something is done to correct these issues.

or maybe I should homeschool him..............

 Copied directly off the CCSD transportation web page

R. L. "Bob" VeresDirector

    Kathleen GeyerSupervisor of Transportation Services

you want more e-mail addresses I got em....

My son is 9th grade and has had the same bus driver for 3 years now.  I agree that some of these kids I would like to wring their necks! 

But sometimes it's the driver.... I have watched my sons driver run red lights, miss bus stops and arbitrarily add stops in when the kids or parents don't want the kids walking the extra "few" feet up the hill to the next stop. At least once a week she's 15 minutes late and she has missed the first turn-off (a major road) on her afternoon route more then 1 time! The kicker .... I was almost in a head-on accident with a bus about 2 months ago at 6:30am one morning. A school bus was passing another BUS on a rural 2 lane road in Keystone! Yes- bus passing bus! So- I immediately called transportation and spoke with the lady in charge of Keystone. She asked if I got the bus # (not at 6:30am in the morning) and not when I'm freaking out, coming to a complete stop trying to avoid a head-on collision. So I called a friend of mine that also drives in Keystone.  Winds up it was my son's driver that passed the other bus! She was running late that morning. They placed her on 2 months probation. 

A couple of weeks ago they started construction on our road. She decided that she didn't want to fight the 1-way construction zone so she started dropping my son & his friends off 1 road over making them walk further out of the way so she could avoid the construction.  I called transportation again.  The next day a supervisor was riding with her and it was funny how all of a sudden she didn't have any problems driving through the construction zone. 

So Win I suggest your first phone call is to transportation.  They have helped me with my problem.  I hate the fact that I've had to call them about this driver but when I spoke with the friend of mine and some of the other drivers....there are a lot of complaints from parents and other drivers about my son's driver. I just seem to be the only one willing to call transportation.  And it may be the same with you. 

I always stop and check on buses on the side of the road when on duty to make sure the driver and students are safe. This year I have had to board two different buses and take students off that are unruly and back talking and disrupting the safety of the driver and passengers. Both times it has been junior high students. I know this is a surprise to many,  they even gave me a mouth full of back talk. State law gives the principal the authority to remove a student from bus privileges for bad conduct. Do they do it? No, they do not want to deal with parents complaining in their office. I say kick them off and let the parents get them to school. One school principal wanted the Sheriff’s Office to escort a bus in the morning and afternoon to a neighborhood because the students were so rowdy. My answer was exercise the law and kick them off the bus for 10 days and if they can’t behave after that kick them off for the entire school year.

He took my advice and has not had anymore problems.

Now to bus drivers and traffic violations. We have and still do issue traffic citations to school bus drivers.

Out of control bus and driver

First let me thank all of you for the advice that you have given. It gave me some good insight on how to handle this situation. I chose to handle it by talking to the school principle. I made a call yesterday and tried to contact her, but I was told that she was out of the office the rest of the week. So, they gave me the voice mail of the assistant. I left a voice mail, and have yet to here back from the assistant principle. I guess I will try to call one more time, and if no results I will call the superintendent, and register a formal complaint. I will keep all informed of my out come. Thanks so much for your help.

It takes an unsatisfied person to make things satisfactory: winn1955   

I'm glad you're not letting this go. The people in charge need real feedback. If they never hear anything, the assumption is that all is well. If you feel this is a continuing problem instead of a one time screw up, you might also check with the other parents to see if they have complaints that they haven't voiced. It's always good to have back up.

NCLB: No Chocolate Left Behind

Winn,

   I would definitely recommend following all and any of the above suggestions for how to report this type of unexcusable behavior,it's very important for the information to be given to those who are able and may do something about it.

   For me though,a few slaps on the wrist isnt going to change this busdrivers character.In my honest opinion, if you take care about the boy's well being enough to walk him to and from his busstop each day to ensure his safety, why not go the extra mile and just drive him?

  Jimmaxie, I hear you on the homeschool instinct. I homeschool.If you ever want some info or a sounding board, please feel free. I'm going into my third year doing it, and couldnt be happier.

  Even while my son attended private school for two years( I just dont approve of the public schools, personal opinion )I drove him back and forth to school myself. Not only because of the environment on the buses themselves, and the reckless driving. I STILL cannot get over the fact that buses dont have seatbelts.It seems such a common sense kind of thing.

   So I agree, call people, make reports, there are still children riding that bus in that environment every day that could use the help. For your grandson however, you seem to have the extra few minutes each day to transport him yourself. I truly think you would feel better, and I bet your grandson would sure enjoy it :)

Miani

Winn,

Believe me, the principal, board members, and Superintendent are counting on you to drop the matter. Call the Superintendent today. The assistant principal has chosen to not get back to you in a timely manner.

Even if you talk to the principal, it is up to you to go up the chain of command about the  superintendent on his/her own accord.

Insist that you see the paper work of all involved and actions taken for correction. Keep careful notes of your own.

Contact the superintendents office, you'll never actually talk to owens if you were expecting to.  If they don't call back or answer to you right then, then call back, again and again and again or call your school board member until you get an answer. 

If the bus driver said that, which i find unprobable then he or she should be held accountable.  As far as teasing or harrassing, what do you want the bus driver to do, stop the bus time and time again, rite a bus referral only for it to be reversed or lessened by the parent who thinks their child to be an angel, stop and wait for a deputy to come pick the kid up and throw an entire scheldule off.  It happens everyday not just to your grandbaby, the bus driver has little to no control.  You called the AP of the school, not a smart move.  Average AP has over 600 kids to deal with, over 60 staff members among many other difficulties, hmmmmm. calling the grandparent back who has a complaint about the bus driver and the activities on the bus probably with distorted information, not on the big to do list. 

Your child should not be subjected to such on the bus or at school, however, it will happen on the bus and more than just this time, i rode the bus for 3 years, it's not fun, i never recall the bus driver cursing at us, i do recall asshole children making the ride to school an absolute trip through hell, fights, language abuse, and much more, with one enforcer driving the bus with fifty kids.  Is it right, no, it is going to change, no.

Go to the chief first, it'll take awhile for the government to get going on the issue.     

Principals only have say so at their school..you need to go the heads of transportation and work your way down. If you are not completely satisfied with the out come, go to Dave Owens directly, e-mail him call him what ever...but make sure you are keeping records of everyone you have called or tried to call, CYA so they can't come back later and say O no one told me... 

 But it is very important that any and all involved know what the h-e-double hockey sticks is going on. You know the squeeky wheel and all that.

http://www.clay.k12.fl.us/school_board.htm List of all School Board members phone # and email addresses

http://www.clay.k12.fl.us/transportation.htm List of all Transportation Depts phone# and emails...

Executive Secretary for David Owens 

Karen Bush - kbush@mail.clay.k12.fl.us

If I were you I would e-mail all the above, and tell them you have been put off by the school. I don't care how busy a AP is, if a child reports such abuse by an employee of the school system then, It should be handled  Immediately.  If you get no response Call CCSO 264-6512.

They make us send our kids to school, they need to make sure OUR kids are safe and are not subjected to ANY kind of abuse, be it from an employee, teacher, another student.

If a child gives you this much information about circumstances, something needs to be done.

1003.31  Students subject to control of school.—

(1) Subject to law and rules of the State Board of Education and of the district school board, each student enrolled in a school shall:

 (a) During the time she or he is being transported to or from school at public expense; (b) During the time she or he is attending school; (c) During the time she or he is on the school premises participating with authorization in a school-sponsored activity; and (d) During a reasonable time before and after the student is on the premises for attendance at school or for authorized participation in a school-sponsored activity, and only when on the premises, be under the control and direction of the principal or teacher in charge of the school, and under the immediate control and direction of the teacher or other member of the instructional staff or of the bus driver to whom such responsibility may be assigned by the principal. However, the State Board of Education or the district school board may, by rules, subject each student to the control and direction of the principal or teacher in charge of the school during the time she or he is otherwise en route to or from school or is presumed by law to be attending school. Each district school board, each district school superintendent, and each school principal shall fully support the authority of teachers, according to s. 1003.32, and school bus drivers to remove disobedient, disrespectful, violent, abusive, uncontrollable, or disruptive students from the classroom and the school bus and, when appropriate and available, place such students in an alternative educational setting.  

(2) There is a rebuttable presumption that the term "reasonable time" means 30 minutes before or after the activity is scheduled or actually begins or ends, whichever period is longer. A school or district school board may, by policy or other formal action, assume a longer period of supervision. Casual or incidental contact between school district personnel and students on school property shall not result in a legal duty to supervise outside of the reasonable times set forth in this section, provided that parents shall be advised in writing twice per year or by posted signs of the school's formal supervisory responsibility and that parents should not rely on additional supervision. The duty of supervision shall not extend to anyone other than students attending school and students authorized to participate in school-sponsored activities.

 (3) Nothing shall prohibit a district school board from having the right to expel, or to take disciplinary action against, a student who is found to have committed an offense on school property at any time if: (a) The student is found to have committed a delinquent act which would be a felony if committed by an adult; (b) The student has had adjudication withheld for a delinquent act which, if committed by an adult, would be a felony; or

(c) The student has been found guilty of a felony. However, if the student is a student with a disability, the disciplinary action must comply with the procedures set forth in State Board of Education rule.

 (4) Each student enrolled in a school may be required to take the following school child's daily conduct pledge: (a) I will be respectful at all times and obedient unless asked to do wrong. (b) I will not hurt another person with my words or my acts, because it is wrong to hurt others. (c) I will tell the truth, because it is wrong to tell a lie. (d) I will not steal, because it is wrong to take someone else's property. (e) I will respect my body, and not take drugs. (f) I will show strength and courage, and not do something wrong, just because others are doing it.

(g) I pledge to be nonviolent and to respect my teachers and fellow classmates.

 History.--s. 126, ch. 2002-387; s. 35, ch. 2003-391.  

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch1003/SEC31.HTM&Title=->2007->Ch1003->Section%2031#1003.31

I made this shirt for Kevin to wear to school when he had a particularly bad day. It seems that word has gotten out that the next time someone lays their hands upon him( he was jumped by another child,walking home from school)((so now instead of him walking the .4mile I take him up to school)) I will be up there with a deputy, so now it is all verbal.  In case you can't read the shirt it says "for crying out loud will you leave me alone for one stinking day!!!"  And they say junior high is worse, homeschooling sounds better and better....all the words and pledges in the world do not do one bit of good if a child is getting harrased and belittled...