A woman in DeKalb County, Geogia, is infuriated after her 6-year-old daughter was kicked off the school bus during a rainstorm and a mile from their home, reported Fox 5.
Alicia McClendon, the mother of the student, told local news reporters that she dropped off her daughter around 6:45 a.m. May 12 at her school bus stop. Around 15 to 20 minutes later, she received a call stating that her daughter was walking the streets in the rain, crying and screaming for help.
According to the news report, McClendon said her daughter, identified as Kaylani, was supposed to be dropped off at Flat Rock Elementary School, but the school driver kicked the child off the school bus after telling the girl to stop talking.
McClendon reportedly stated that her daughter had been left alone in the rain and was terrified. The child did not know where she was or what was going on.
Aisha Parker, a woman from the neighborhood, told local news reporters she was at her house when she heard a commotion. She thought it was kids playing around but then heard someone screaming and crying. It was Kaylani. The girl approached Parker and asked her for help, then told her what happened and how the school driver had kicked her off the bus.
Parker reportedly called McClendon immediately after and told her what happened. McClendon says she’s beyond upset and wants to press charges. The district said via the article that the driver has been placed on administrative leave until further notice and is prohibited from entering any DCSD schools, properties or fleet vehicles while the incident remains under investigation.
A former Susquenita School District bus driver in Pennsylvania is facing charges after being accused of allegedly inappropriately touching elementary age students on the school bus for over six months, reported ABC 27.
John Joseph Straining, 50, was reportedly arrested by State Police at New Port and is facing 25 felony charges, including three counts each of felony institutional sexual assault, indecent assault of a minor under 13 and unlawful contact with a minor, among others.
According to the news report, two Susquenita Elementary School students reported that Straining, known to them as “Mr. John,” would tickle juvenile girls on the school bus despite being told to stop.
Upon investigation, police learned that Straining tickled multiple male and female third and fourth grade students, including tickling girls’ chests and thighs.
Police said surveillance video on the school bus showed these interactions occurring between last October and April of this year.
Rohrer Bus Company, the contractor Suquenita uses for transportation, reportedly fired Straining April 14.
REDFORD, Mich. – Alvin Stokes Jr., bus driver for Durham School Services, has been recognized with an Excellence in Transportation Award for his dedication to going above and beyond in providing excellent service to his students and community.
Stokes initially drove for Durham during the pandemic and recently returned to drive for the company in May of last year. In the nomination submitted by his peer, they noted that Alvin “is very helpful to the students and the parents. He goes above and beyond service. If he sees anything wrong, he makes our company aware of it. He drives his bus very safely and he abides by all the rules and regulations of a bus.”
The Excellence in Transportation Award is peer-nominated and awarded annually. It aims to recognize transportation staff who go above and beyond to demonstrate service excellence, and is presented by Wayne RESA, a regional educational service agency, and the Wayne County Transportation Supervisors Association. One winner from each school district is selected by a committee and the winners are recognized at an Excellence in Transportation Banquet surrounded by peers, family, the school districts, and community members.
“Alvin is a wonderful driver who cares so much about his students and is well-deserving of the Excellence in Transportation Award,” said Melanie Hamilton, General Manager, Durham School Services. “He has a great rapport with his students and has a knack in making jokes and making them laugh, all the while ensuring he gets them to school safely every day. Moreover, he is a team player who never hesitates to lend a helping hand when needed. Our team is incredibly proud of Alvin and grateful to have him back on our team. Congratulations, Alvin, and thank you for always going the extra mile for your students and the community.”
About Durham School Services: As an industry-leading student transportation provider, Durham School Services is dedicated to the safety of our students and People. For more than 100 years, we have been committed to Excellence and upholding our mission of getting students to school safely, on time, and ready to learn. Through this mission and a grassroots approach to our operations, Durham School Services has earned recognition as a trusted transportation provider among our Customers and the Communities we serve.
A student transportation driver in Harrisburg will serve nearly eight years in prison after pleading guilty to driving a school vehicle under the influence of prescription drugs last year, reported FOX 43.
Heather Shumberger, 41, pleaded guilty in January to four counts of recklessly endangering another person, two counts of endangering the welfare of children, two counts of DUI, and a summary traffic offense.
Shumberger was reportedly sentenced to a prison term of four months to just under eight years last week. Once her prison terms end, she will also serve a period of probation.
The incident reportedly occurred on Oct. 30, 2023, when police officers pulled over Shumberger after receiving multiple calls from other motorists concerned with her erratic driving.
According to the article, Shumberger was driving a school van, traveling well under the posted speed limit of 65 mph, and swerving in and out of traffic lanes.
Responding officers said Shumberger’s van was located and pulled over. She began to doze off while interacting with officers and was unable to perform the field sobriety test.
Four students ages 9 to 19-years-old were inside the van at the time of the incident. The students showed police a video that showed Shumberger swerving while driving.
Police also reportedly watched outward- and inward-facing dash camera footage from the school vehicle that provided additional evidence of her erratic driving. Another driver was assigned to pick up the students and safely transport them to their destination.
The news report states that blood test later showed that Shumberger had Xanax, Klonopin, Pristiq, Soma, Zyprexa, Effexor and Buprenorphine in her system at the time of her arrest.
A Wilmington teen diagnosed with autism was found safe after a New Hanover County school bus driver helped police locate the boy, reported WRAL News.
According to the article, bus driver Marie Murphy and her monitor Valeria Davis were picking up students April 25 during their normal route when Davis received a notification on her cell phone.
Davis told local news reporters that the WECT app, which provides local news alerts, notified her that a teenager was missing around the Wilmington area.
Davis showed the update to Murphy, and they realized the 14-year-old often rode their school bus. The teen was reported missing at midnight, and the Wilmington Police officers had spent five hours looking for him that morning.
After seeing the boy’s picture, Murphy and Davis were on the lookout as well. Murphy told local news reporters that it made her think of her own kids.
During their last school bus stop, the women reportedly saw the teen standing with a friend on the side of a street. They tried talking to the teen about the incident but all he said was that he wanted to go to school.
Davis and Murphyc contacted their supervisors, Laura Sebert and Stacy Greene, who called 911. Murphy drove the teen to New Hanover High School, where police met them. The reasons for the teen’s disappearance remain unclear.
A Lynden School District bus driver in Lyden Washington, died following a traffic incident, reported KPUG News.
The incident occurred May 1, when the school bus driven by Annette Lyon collided with a white SUV just before 8 a.m.
According to the news report, there were no students on board the bus or involved in the crash. Lyon had been with the district since 2021.
Police said via the article that the SUV driver was sent to a local hospital with unknown injuries. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Anyone who witnessed the incident or has dashcam footage is being asked to contact authorities.
A Georgia school bus driver and seven students have been charged in relation to a violent attack of a 7-year-old student during a bus ride, reported WTOC.
According to the news report, a William James Middle School resource officer in Bulloch County received a report April 23 of an attack on the child during the morning bus route of April 18. Following the report, a criminal investigation into the incident was initiated.
Details from the investigation revealed that seven students ages 5 to 14 physically attacked a 7-year-old child during the bus ride to Mattie Lively Elementary School.
Capt. Todd Hutchens with the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office told local news reporters that one used his feet to stomp on the 7-year-old. Authorities said the nature of the attack was very violent, which led them to be very concerned for the safety of the 7-year-old as well as other children on the bus.
According to the article, the school nurse said the 7-year-old had multiple injuries, including heavy bruising. Video footage from the bus reportedly shows the seven students involved in the attack. Since then, all the students have been identified, suspended from school and charged with battery.
The bus driver, 70-year-old Joey Edwin Jackson, was also charged following the investigation. He faces charges of cruelty to children in the second degree and failure to report child abuse.
Hutches said via the article that Jackson did not pull over, did not call the bus garage to report an incident, and did not ask for help. Instead, he continued driving to the school. Jackson was fired for failing to follow mandatory reporter protocol. He had been employed by the district since October 2023.
Tony Corpin sat down with First Student CEO John Kenning at the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo to discuss the company’s innovative offerings, the launch of the HALO technology platform and more! Watch the full interview.
A 6-year-old boy died from his injuries after he was hit by a school bus in New Orleans, Louisiana, reported 4WWL News.
The incident reportedly occurred the morning of April 10 when the student, identified as Mayson Richards, exited his mother’s car in attempt to board a school bus. However, he was struck by the bus that was transporting 27 passengers at the time of the incident. Richards was taken to the hospital, where he died from his injuries not long after. None of the passengers had any reported injuries.
According to the news report, family members at the scene were the ones who identified Richards. He was a student at KIPP Leadership charter school, and his death left his family and community devasted.
Police told local news reporters that the school bus driver, who was not identified in this writing, opened the door to pick up passengers, once everyone had boarded the doors closed and the driver began to drive forward while checking the side view mirrors. When the driver saw Richards’ mother run from her car and pick up Richards who was lying in the street, that’s when the driver realized the child had been hit by the bus.
Authorities say via the news report that the bus driver, who remained at the scene and showed no signs of impairment, did not see Richards running to the front of the bus due to his short height.
A representative of JJ Julien Transportation, the company that owns the school bus, told local news reporters that the driver was a “great driver” and has been with the company “for a while.” However, the driver has not been working since the crash.
Richard’s family opened a GoFundMe account to help alleviate the cost of the funeral.
A Calhoun County Schools bus driver who was accused of DUI after being involved in a rollover crash accepted a guilty plea agreement, reported WSAZ 3.
The incident reportedly occurred March 4 at approximately 6 p.m., when 54-year-old Jeffrey Brannon was transporting 19 students on Route 16. He ran off the road and struck a culvert, causing the school bus to tip over.
The article states that students on board the bus ranged in ages from 11 to 18. Three students suffered serious injuries. Two of the victims were air lifted from the scene, but their injuries were not considered to be life-threatening. Their current condition is unclear at this time. All other students were taken to local hospitals, where they were treated and released.
Brannon was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and child neglect. A preliminary breath test at the scene showed he had .161 percent blood alcohol level, which is four times the legal limit for a commercial driver. Brannon’s bond was set at $250,000 and the first preliminary hearing was held March 14.
Calhoun County Schools Superintendent Michael Fitzwater told local media that all applicable laws will be followed and that Brannon will never operate another school bus.
In the Citrus Court of Calhoun County, Brannon entered a guilty plea April 10 to three counts of DUI causing serious bodily injury and 16 counts of child neglect, creating risk of serious bodily injury.
JACKSONVILLE, Flo. –Durham School Services celebrated more growth and expansion with the grand opening of its new bus yard facility in Duval County today, which will serve students from Arlington to the Beaches. Team members, school district transportation staff, and local media attended the event.
“Today was a day to have fun and recognize those who transport our most precious cargo safely, on time, and ready to learn. It was also a chance to recognize the people who keep the buses running. We have been extremely excited about the opening and what it means for our drivers, monitors and community,” said Nicoll Conden, General Manager at Durham School Services.
More than 100 drivers will operate out of the new bus yard. Durham School Services has been part of the Jacksonville area since 2009 and has almost 400 service routes in the Arlington, Southside, Mandarin and Beaches areas. As a dedicated community partner and as part of its Partners Beyond the Bus community outreach program, Durham’s team members have participated in several community events such as Wreaths Across America, back to school events and the city’s Christmas party.
About Durham School Services: As an industry-leading student transportation provider, Durham School Services is dedicated to the safety of our students and people. For more than 100 years, we have been committed to excellence and upholding our mission of getting students to school safely, on time and ready to learn. Through this mission and a grassroots approach to our operations, Durham School Services has earned recognition as a trusted transportation provider among our customers and the communities we serve.
A Ridgeview School District bus driver in McLean County, Illinois, is facing charges for allegedly grabbing an 11-year-old student and leaving red marks on the back of his neck and arms, reported 25 News.
The bus driver, identified as 64-year-old Joseph C. Zimmerman, is facing one felony count of aggravated battery to a child than 13 and two misdemeanor battery counts.
According to the news report, police saw a video showing Zimmerman grabbing the boy by the back of the neck. Zimmerman admitted grabbing the boy’s arm but said he does not remember grabbing the child’s neck.
Zimmerman reportedly grabbed the boy for kicking a ball out of the bus. He told police that students are not allowed to have balls in the bus and this particular ball did not belong to the boy.
The article states that a judge released Zimmerman on the condition that he does not have contact outside his house with anyone under 18-years-old. It was unclear if he was fired from his job or suspended pending investigation.
Parents question a school bus driver’s actions after he drove away from the bus stop with students still on board on March 27, reported CBC News.
According to the news reports, Chris Roberts was at the bus stop as usual, waiting for his 5-year-old son to come home from Moncton School.
The bus reportedly arrived, the door opened, and a few students got off. Then the driver suddenly closed the door and started to drive away with Robert’s son and other students still on board.
Roberts told local news reporters he began to run toward the bus to alert the driver, who was not identified in this writing. But the driver waved and drove away.
Dozens of kids usually get off the bus at the Chesed Boulevard stop every day at about 3 p.m.
The article states parents have been trying to piece together what happened but still don’t have a clear picture because the Anglophone East School District is not answering their questions.
Roberts told reporters that he was very concerned about the situation because he claims he heard the driver say something that sounded like he was going to teach the children a lesson.
Down the street, another parent, Kenny Caron, was waiting for his 10-year-old to arrive home from Bessborough School. When the usual time came and went without his son’s arrival, Caron reportedly got in his car and drove to the bus stop where he met Roberts, who was contacting the school.
According to the news report, Caron drove to the school hoping the driver might’ve returned there with the kids but when he failed to locate the bus, he returned to the bus stop.
During this time, Roberts had reportedly contacted a school official, who communicated with the bus driver. The driver had said he was going to finish his route and then drop the kids off at the bus stop.
The parents told reporters that all they had deduced from the receptionists was that the driver was taking them on a drive to scare them straight.
Both parents stayed at the bus stop in panic until the bus returned with the remaining children. The Carons also tried to get answers from the district to ensure this situation wouldn’t happen again, but nobody contacted them.
Local news reporters requested interviews from the Department of Education, but it was declined and redirected questions to the district.
Caron said he was pleased the district put another adult on the bus with the driver, but he only found out because he waited at the bus stop, not because the district communicated with him.
A fourth grader in Maize, Kansas, drove his parent’s pickup truck to school after he missed his school bus, reported KSN News.
According to the article, someone saw the child driving the truck around 8:10 a.m. Wednesday and called the police. Responding officers could not immediately locate the pickup, until someone waved them down and pointed them to Pray-Wood Elementary School.
Police said the child drove the pickup about three miles from his home to the school. Officers added the child parked better than many adults.
Police reportedly did not ticket anyone and allowed the boy’s parents to handle the situation.
In this webinar, you will learn about the latest innovations in radio communications and dispatching solutions for K-12 student transportation.
Whether you are deploying a new radio and GPS location tracking system or looking to add range and capacity to your existing system, this webinar will help you determine the best solutions for your school or district transportation. We will present an overview of current two-way radio systems and standards that use licensed UHF and VHF frequencies, and nationwide 4G/5G/LTE Push-to-Talk over Cellular (PoC). Here are some of the valuable takeaways from this complete guide to radio communications webinar:
How to choose the best radio system for your specific coverage and call capacity requirements
How to migrate from analog to digital for improved performance
How to extend the range and expand the capacity of your radio system
How to add wide area coverage with PoC radios for buses and dispatching to your existing school’s radio system
This webinar is brought to you by Hytera.
REGISTER BELOW:
Presenters:
Ty Estes
Marketing Director
Hytera
Ty Estes is the Marketing Director for Hytera US Inc, where he oversees promotion of the company’s radio communication products. Estes has over twenty years of experience in marketing wireless communications and network technologies, and he has chaired committees in telecommunications trade associations and authored several technical papers. Estes has a bachelor’s degree in English from California State University, Long Beach.
Julie Ann Baker
PoC Product Manager
Hytera
Julie Ann Baker is the Hytera US Inc. Push-to-Talk over Cellular (PoC) Product Marketing Manager. In this role, she is responsible for product planning and marketing, gathering and prioritizing product and customer requirements, and analyzing and understanding how PoC product line meets the needs of a variety of vertical markets. Baker has worked in high-tech for Intel Corporation, Microchip Technologies, and Hytera US. Julie Ann has a BSEE and MBA.
Tony, Taylor and Ryan cover recent news headlines, analyze federal tariff and funding updates, and recap the action and takeaways from STN EXPO East in Charlotte, North Carolina, last month.
Hear thoughts from Joshua Hinerman, director of transportation for Robertson County Schools in Tennessee, as well as several attendees of STN EXPO East, on the starting ages and appropriate training for school bus drivers.
Albemarle County Public Schools (ACPS) held a bus roadeo for its drivers to show off their skills in school transportation, reported 29 News.
Albermarle County Public Schools Bus During Roadeo.
According to the news report, the district’s bus drivers took on timed challenges March 28 and demonstrated their skills in backing up, parking and navigating tight spaces.
ACPS Bus Driver Jan Kendrick told local news reporters that the roadeo gives the drivers a chance to get together and show what they can do. More than just a roadeo, bus drivers view it as training and a chance for friendly competition.
Kendrick said competing in the roadeo also helps them every day when driving students to and from school. The district serves over 14,000 students from elementary to high school.
Albermarle County Public Schools Bus Roadeo Award.
“A bus driver has more to do in that one seat than any other driver out there,” said Kendrick via the article.
Delvico ‘Vec’ Dunn, the new executive director of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) in Charlotte, North Carolina, started his career as a school bus driver for CMS. He uses that experience to lead by example, especially since his CDL remains current.
Dunn started in pupil transportation in August 1997 as a school bus driver. When he was 18 years old, his parents told him he had to get a job, he shared. “I was one paper from signing up for the military, and a buddy who still drives now said, ‘Hey, they’re hiring bus drivers.’ ‘I said that’s something I would never do.’ But once doing it, I got the passion for it,” he said. “Never did I think it would be a career, though, just something to do. But as time passed and promotions started, I said ‘Hey, I like this.’ It was just about being in the community, being around others, meeting new people, and also seeing things and individuals.”
He transitioned to a lead driver with more office responsibilities and then became an operations technician that oversaw driver and monitor payroll within his area. He left CMS in 2006 to work at neighboring Union County Public Schools, in positions ranging from transportation specialist to operations manager to assistant director.
In 2014, Dunn returned to CMS as a transportation specialist and was promoted within a year to director of operations. In 2020, he became the director of fleet, which encompassed support services.
“Now here we are in 2025, I’ve come full circle to the highest position in our industry, within the CMS sector as the executive director of transportation,” he said. “So basically, starting from the bottom, going through different positions, going to another county and to run one of the largest transportation systems around the country.”
Starting his career as a school bus driver for the same department he’s leading, shapes his daily perspective and priorities. Because he sat in the bus driver’s seat, he said he knows what drivers deal with. And some of the same people that he drove alongside, still drive for CMS.
“To sit in every seat that we have within our department, it shows that I know each level. When an employee says you don’t understand, I fully understand. I drove a bus, I worked in office, I did payroll,” he explained “That’s the advantage I have, which made me more able to adjust to the role of being the executive director. So, the cliche, you don’t know where I come from, I truly do.”
Dunn noted he is following in the footsteps of Adam Johnson, who left CMS earlier this year to become the senior executive director of transportation for Atlanta Public Schools in Georgia.
“Me and Mr. Johnson have been tied to the hip for over 20 years,” Dunn said, adding that he was a supervisor when Dunn was a lead driver. Johnson was also the transportation director when Dunn returned to the district after working at Union County.
“He set high standards,” Dunn added.
He noted that he wants to continue to promote Johnson’s vision but also put his own spin on it. He shared that his leadership style has always been straightforward, and that the administration is only as strong as the front-line employees.
Leveraging Social Media at Transportation’s Level: Share your Story
When Thomas Miner ran the district-wide social media platforms for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, he repeatedly saw that transportation operations were being highlighted on the district’s main accounts. This kickstarted his transfer to work with transportation exclusively. He’s now the the operations specialist in charge of sharing transportation’s stories.
Miner said that while his position existed in transportation before he joined the department two years ago, former transportation director Adam Johnson incorporated more social and digital media elements into his role, which included creating transportation-specific social media accounts. Miner now not only manages department social media but also creates newsletters and distributes internal department messaging.
“We really do try to emphasize as much as we can in the department,” Miner said of using social media for transportation. “We try to share good news from across the department. When you have over 800 drivers, there are stories happening on our buses and throughout our department every day. So, we try to lift up as much of our good news as we can and show the community how we’re serving students and how we are working with schools and principals to make sure that we get students to and from school safely and on time.”
He said having their own social media channels gives transportation an avenue to share their story through photos and videos.
“We get to lift them up and kind of show the community what’s happening in transportation,” he said.
He noted that having a social media dedicated to transportation has changed the dynamic with parents and students in a positive way.
“The district itself has a real focus on communication and customer service, so we prioritize that in all the conventional ways,” he explained. “But we also use our social media tool to directly connect to students and parents. Sometimes they’ll send us messages of compliment. Sometimes they’ll send us a message of something that we need to look into. We really utilized that tool as one more avenue to connect and engage with parents and in the community.
“When we win awards, when we’re doing community service projects, we get to lift that up and show our side and show our story,” he continued, of potential posts. “So often, the news around school districts can be a little negative. We use this as an opportunity to lift up as much good as we can, and to use our platform to share our story.”
“We can’t forget about the drivers, the monitors, our area supervisors, our mechanics, our maintenance supervisors, they do the day-to-day nuts and bolts. If they’re doing their job effectively, it makes, as the executive director or manager, your day run smoothly,” he noted. “I truly believe the top is only strong as the bottom. If the foundation is shaky, the top will be shaky no matter how good or a true leader you have. To have the buy-in, that speaks volumes.”
He added that hiring an internal candidate to fill his role offers stability, but he noted it also comes with challenges as everyone is comfortable in their ways. “I make sure the folks know what my vision is, in parallel to what our district vision is: our goal is to transport students to and from school safely,” he added.
Operational Breakdown
CMS operates about 1,100 pieces of equipment, 838 of which are routed school buses. When Dunn first started driving, he said, CMS had over 1,000 routed buses. He explained that across the nation, student ridership is increasing, but drivers are diminishing.
“Everybody is seeing that shortfall around the industry,” he said, adding that retention is key. That can entail ensuring applicants have other driving job options once they receive their CDL.
He explained CMS was short 27 drivers for the 838 routed bus in mid-March. The biggest hurdle to overcome is driver retirements. “Every year we want to recruit, retain and retrain,” he said, adding that when an industry veteran retires, the district loses that level of 20 to 30 years of experience.
To help combat this, he said CMS offers over $20 per hour starting pay for new drivers. But in addition to finances, there is a positive culture to maintain, not necessarily within the department but on each school bus with student behavior. Dunn said the district prioritizes professional development and training to de-escalate conflicts when they arise. Additionally, transportation focus on self-incentive awards to recognize staff.
“It always can’t be monetary, but sometimes it’s that simple,” he said of recognizing drivers and showing appreciation. “Thank you for the service you’re doing.”
The district will also be holding its annual Bus Rodeo, which provides drivers with an outlet to compete against one another. “We try to keep them engaged and but it’s all about talking in those open lines of communication,” he said. “And also, my door is always open, as well as their area supervisor’s door.”
Delvico “Vec” Dunn was named executive director of transportation earlier this year.
He said CMS also has a bus driver committee, represented by all the 14 service areas the district operates out of five facilities. It’s a chance for drivers to not only bring concerns and questions to administrators needing answers to transportation leaders. This, he said, instills in the culture that managers aren’t simply making a given decision, but do so after getting buy-in from all staff members and making them feel a part of the team.
Technology Through the Ages
Two of the five CMS transportation locations, including the one where this interview was held, were updated within the past year. “That’s a first in my tenure because when I started in 1997, the newest bus garage had just opened up,” Dunn recalled.
The Downs transportation facility at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools was updated in 2025.
In terms of bus technology, Dunn said CMS has GPS, camera systems and tablets. He added that a wish list item, pending available budgetary resources, is RFID card technology. Dunn said the district has an app that can shows the bus location, but it doesn’t alert parents or guardians if their child is on the bus or if/when they got off.
He said another technology solution he’s eyeing is turn-by-turn directions on the tablets. He noted that whether the technology is a distraction has been debated, but he thinks a paper route is more dangerous than following an audible command.
When he started in the industry, Dunn said he and his fellow drivers didn’t even have radios, and the loading doors had to be manually opened and closed. “Now everything is on the steering wheel and buses have air conditioning,” he commented.
In his day behind the wheel, he said air conditioning was driving downhill with the windows open, or “all 32 down,” to catch a good breeze.
A school bus driver in North Pole, Alaska, was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs and possessing firearms.
The Alaska Department of Public Safety released a statement regarding an incident that that occurred March 27, when a North Pole High School bus driver was pulled over for failing to maintain its lane and erratic driving.
According to the statement, the bus driver, identified as 24-year-old Lawrence Dunlap, was arrested on probable cause of being under the influence of drugs while operating a school bus. Officers recovered two firearms from the suspect’s belongings.
Police stated that there were no children present at the time of the stop or arrest.
According to local news reports, Dunlap could not tell the officers how he picked up the school bus and explained that he did not mean to turn onto Badger Road and that he was on his way to pick up students from North Pole High School.
Police said via the statement that any charges reported in the press release are merely allegations and Dunlap is presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty.
The Chandler Unified School District in Arizona implemented a pilot program to boost school bus driver’s pay amid a nationwide shortage, reported Azcentral News.
The district’s governing board reportedly set aside roughly $610,000 for stipends and higher wages for school bus drivers for the remainder of this school year and next. The district has 162 bus drivers on staff and 14 on the queue.
According to the new report, with the increases, the annual salary for bus drivers will range from $34,000 to $38,000, depending on the types of routes.
“The pilot program makes Chandler Unified very competitive, if not the most competitive for bus driver pay,” said Chief Financial Officer Lana Berry.
The district serves roughly 44,000 students across 55 schools in the East Valley of Phoenix metro.
Every district school bus driver will reportedly receive a $500 stipend at the end of the current school year. They will also receive greater flexibility to use paid time off.
Additionally, approximately 60 drivers that have added new bus routes or combined previous ones five or more times throughout the quarter will be eligible for a stipend of $500 for the fourth quarter and back pay of $500 for doing so previously.
According to the article, it is expected that about five drivers out of the 60 will be eligible for an additional $500 stipend for taking on what the districts refers to as “hard to fill” routes, five or more times throughout the fourth quarter.
Paid time off flexibility will continue next year as well. In the past, the district’s school bus drivers that worked 32 hours a week were unable to take paid time off. Now, they will be able to use up to 14 hours of paid time off during weeks in which they’ve already worked 32 hours.
Beyond the pilot program, the district reportedly offers $1,000 stipends for new bus drivers and $1,000 stipends for existing bus drivers who refer another driver. Board president Patti Serrano said the district will be holding walk-in interviews.
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