A Jamesville-DeWitt Central School District bus driver has resigned after the district placed them on administrative leave for failing to do a final check of their bus and leaving an elementary student alone in the vehicle that was parked in the district bus garage.
“This is absolutely unacceptable,” Superintendent Peter Smith. “Sweeping the bus before leaving it unattended is a basic safety protocol and one that all drivers are trained on and re-trained on. This never should have happened.”
The student’s father, who was looking for his child, arrived at the bus garage Sept. 28 at about 6 p.m., about the same time that a different bus was returning from a sporting event. The driver of that bus and the parent found the child, who had exited the bus, inside the locked bus garage. Smith and the student’s principal were in contact with the family immediately after the incident and school staff supported the student and their family as needed.
“We recognize the panic this child must have felt being left alone and that their family must have felt when their student didn’t arrive home, and I am deeply sorry that one of our students and their family had this experience,” Smith said.
Dispatchers remain at the bus garage until the last regular afternoon bus run is complete, but they do not sweep the buses before leaving—that is each individual bus driver’s responsibility. The district had a fleet of 41 buses in use the afternoon of Sept. 28. When the dispatcher left and locked the building at 5 p.m., they did not know a student was still on one of the buses.
“Our students’ safety is paramount, and we will be reviewing if there are other protocols or procedures we need to put in place to ensure a safe and positive experience for our students who use district transportation,” Smith said.