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Boy left on bus forces meeting

By David Vitrano
Published/Last Modified on Saturday, February 6, 2010 12:10 PM CST

L’Observateur

RESERVE – When a frantic knock on a seldom-used door of the St. John the Baptist Parish School Board meeting room sounded, it got the attention of the community members in attendance waiting for the board’s return from executive session. When a bawling kindergarten student stumbled in, curiosity turned to concern.

The young boy had fallen asleep on a school bus and awoke to find himself alone in the parking lot at the central office.

The boy’s parents were called, and he was retrieved, but the incident caused Superintendent Courtney Millet to call an emergency meeting with the district’s bus drivers Friday.

Millet said at the well-attended meeting she went over a list of notes concerning bus safety.

“They play such an important role,” said Millet.

She said she wanted to gather everyone together to make sure they were all on the same page.

“In our system, we all have to work together,” she added.

Covered at the meeting were various safety procedures every bus driver in the district must follow, including checking the bus before a route begins and again after a route to make sure all children have safely disembarked. She said these are policies mandated by the district on all bus drivers.

The driver who left the child on the bus, however, was a substitute bus driver, so no formal disciplinary action will be taken. Millet did say, however, the driver in question would not be substituting again.

Millet spoke with the parents of the child again on Friday morning and said the boy is fine, if a little shaken up.

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concerned parent wrote on Mar 16, 2010 2:06 PM:

" Just yesterday, March 15th, the school bus system failed again. Apparently there was a mechanical issue with a bus which delayed some students being dropped home by 45 minutes. Did anyone bother to contact parents and let them know that their child would be returning home late? NO! This is unacceptable St. John Parish. Clean up your practice. "

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Saintsnurse wrote on Feb 20, 2010 9:34 PM:

" I agree, why wasn't someone waiting at the bus stop for this 5 year old? The bus completed it's route and parked and still no one missed this little boy??? "

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2safeschools wrote on Feb 14, 2010 11:13 AM:

" The best school bus drivers have missed a sleeping child. An abundance of these missed procedures happen on special-needs buses with a monitor also on board. It happens 5,000 times every year, according to the Pupil Transportation Safety Institute. A simple distraction during the check or from off the bus at just the right moment can result in missing a sleeping child. A child left sleeping on a school bus is one of the safest so-called unsafe events involving actual school buses, far safer than when child is left without parent or other adult escort walking to and from the bus stop and while at the bus stop. Looking back over twenty years not a single child has died or abducted when left sleeping on an actual school bus. It remains devastating for everyone involved not to know where a child is. That in itself is sufficient to take an action within the 'missed procedure' disciplinary norms. It is not a time to have a lynching. A free bus stop safety guide is available from: 2safeschools.org "

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Angie wrote on Feb 11, 2010 8:53 PM:

" You would think a parent or someone would be waiting for the little boy at his regular drop off location when he got off the bus after school "

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parent wrote on Feb 9, 2010 3:52 AM:

" Why didn't the parents notice this when school was out. The board meeting is in the evening. Why would a parent not notice thier child missing after at least 4:00pm when most routes are done. "

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parent wrote on Feb 8, 2010 10:15 AM:

" Why didn't the driver check the bus before returning to the bus parking lot? I thought that was something that they had to do. "

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