Yet Another Woman Bus Driver Assaulted

ST. MARY’S TODAY

PARK HALL — A woman bus driver who had just got her driving certification in November to help her family was assaulted on Friday morning by a member of a group of students who were singing and dancing wildly at the back of the bus.
The driver said the group was angered when she had to pull the brakes. She had to stop the bus when she saw the students threateningly come to the front of the bus.
“Some of them began yelling and hurling profanity and one came pointing his finger at my face,” she said. “I was hit in the mouth under my nose.”
The assault happened at Cullison Road, off Route 5, at 7 am in the morning.
The driver, who did not want to be named out of fear parents might further harass her, has pressed assault charges against the juvenile.
“I have been driving the bus for three weeks and it has been a problem every day,” she said from her home. She said she got the license as most her family were in the bus contracting business and were having a hard time finding drivers. “All contractors have trouble,” she said.
The driver, who was not hurt badly said the school system and the teachers were doing all they could do to bring order but hoped the parents would try to teach their children to show respect. “No respect is being shown to the bus drivers or the teachers,” she complained.
Kathleen M. Lyon, executive director of student services, said, “The school system has taken a serious look at the incident and has investigated it thoroughly and will take disciplinary action as appropriate.”
“I couldn’t discuss this particular case,” Lyon said, adding student confidentiality prohibits her from talking about the specifics of any case.
School superintendent Mike Martirano said first and foremost the school system would ensure that children were accountable with the code of conduct.
“If any child misbehaves, we will make certain the child is held accountable with the discipline of the code of student conduct,” Martirano said.
He said the school system wanted to make certain that parents support the school efforts to enforce the rules and teach the children proper conduct.
In the first month of the year 2006, Lyon said she was not aware of any such incident in which a bus driver may have been harassed by students aboard the buses.
Lyon, who is charged with maintaining discipline in the school system, said, “We do take the safety of our students and staff, including bus drivers very seriously.” She said her office works diligently to address discipline and safety in schools and on the buses.
She said disciplinary action ranges from a simple warning to downright expulsion from the school. “There have been expulsions throughout the school years,” she said.
She said, “There has been no expulsion so far this year. Last year there was none, but there was one the year before that.”
The contractor of the ill-fated bus No. 506, Jay Kessler, “This bus (506) does have a behavior problem with students,” said Kessler. “There was a fight on the bus last week.”
He said bus drivers barely make $12.75 per hour. “Nobody wants to be assaulted for that little money.”
Kessler said it was shameful that school bus drivers were being treated as second class citizens. He said students were routinely targeting bus drivers with impunity.
But Kessler credited Martirano for trying to stop the eroding authority of bus drivers. “This year there has been a crackdown on bad behavior.”
Local bus drivers fear the county is going to end with no drivers at all if the present trend of attacking bus drivers was not reversed.
Lyon’s office has come out with the dos and don’ts for bus drivers. The dos include “Have students with the most severe behavioral problems sit near you, closest to the window seat. Maintain visibility to and from the student.”
Another do for the abused bus drivers, could better have been placed under don’ts. It reads, “Avoid embarrassing the student, or yelling at them. Some people think embarrassing the student will cause him or her to straighten up faster. That is just not so.”
Lyon’s office website points out St. Mary’s County does have a serious problem with students who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
The first don’ts for bus drivers, reads, “Don’t be fooled by inconsistency or assume the student is deliberately acting up just because you have previously observed the student’s ability to sit and be good. Students with ADHD are inconsistent in their behavior. Sometimes they can sit still, sometimes they cannot.”
Lyon’s office advises bus drivers to keep on trying in spite of the ADHD condition of some of the students. “Don’t give up on trying to help the child improve his/her behavior. Students with ADHD often don’t respond to your positive attitude immediately.”
Lyon’s office also hints there was negativity and rigidity among some bus drivers. And one of the don’ts to bus drivers is, “Don’t surround yourself with negative peers who are critical of students, are not open or receptive to new techniques and strategies, or are not updating their skills.”
The assaulted driver said she faced unruly behavior almost every day. “They don’t listen. Turn their face and act like they did not hear you.”
She said she knew there would be a discipline problem but that she was not fearful. “I still am not.”