SEALY BUS DRIVER INVESTIGATED AFTER PARENTAL COMPLAINTS
Parents in the Sealy ISD are calling for a bus driver to be fired after an incident last week for making child passengers roll their windows up despite the high temperatures.
On Thursday, August 22, children were riding the school bus home with outside temperatures of 103 degrees with a heat index of 108 to 112 degrees.
The bus did not have air conditioning. However, the driver had a fan blowing on her at the front of the bus.
The driver reportedly had the students close the windows of the bus after they were sticking their hands outside.
She later stopped the bus after one student stuck his head out of the window, and admonished the student for over two minutes, which prolonged their time in the heat.
Students also accused her of deliberately driving home slowly over an unpaved road in order to punish them for complaining. The driver denies the accusation.
According to a report by KHOU-TV, the driver has been taken off the route, but still works for the district.
One parent, who has a daughter on the bus that suffers from chronic asthma, has retained an attorney, and is considering legal action.
Sealy ISD Superintendent Bryan Hallmark released a statement saying,
“Last week we were made aware of concerns about a lack of air conditioning on many of our buses. We also received reports that students were not allowed to put their windows down on a bus and that the driver stopped a bus to address a student discipline issue. We take these concerns very seriously. Upon investigating these reports last Thursday, a driver did require a student who was sticking his head out the window to put up his window and the driver stopped the bus for approximately 2 minutes and 20 seconds to address the student. During the route the roof hatches and windows were open. Last Friday, administrators made adjustments to the amount of time the bus spends on unpaved roads so our students can arrive home as quickly and safely as possible. It does get hot on the buses, especially in August. Thankfully, we are experiencing cooler temperatures this week.”
Retaining a lawyer says it all …….also kHOU
I don’t believe.
She shouldn’t be driving to school buses. Last year I was staying at my daughter house and I took the my grandkids to the bus stop,two little kids was running late she went to her next stop and had to turn around and she seen those baby standing there waiting to get on the bus and She passed them right up. That was so heart breaking to see . I don’t think that the job for her, I really do not think she should be driving school buses!!!
Totally agree with you.
I do not live in Sealy but have been following this situation on Social Media. The parents are behaving like they are on the Jerry Springer show. It sounds like the bus driver is a problem and the district should deal with her, however some are defending the children cussing at the bus driver and other bad behavior. Adult school employees should NEVER have to endure being cussed at and disrespected. Those students who did this (and whose parents have confirmed the behavior) should be removed from the bus for a period of time at least. With regard to the school bus, the idea of making all of those kids ride with the windows up is very wrong. We have reached a time where air conditioning should be on these busses, and if not the windows should be lowered. I remember my time on the school bus and absolutely hated it, it was a miserable experience. I swore that my child would never be forced to ride the bus and throughout the K-12 time in Brenham schools, we NEVER utilized a school bus. The kids are out of control, the driver is overwhelmed and forced to drive a large vehicle while dealing with chaos from the kids. I just do not think they are very safe.