Spokesperson: Procedure Wasn’t Followed
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COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — “We really regret this happened, we would never want it to happen,” says Mary Beth Hill, Spokesperson for Lexington School District One Hill is referring to an incident in the bus parking lot of Pelion High School. Monday morning after dropping off students at school, some of elementary age, a bus driver and an aide took the bus back to Pelion High School where it parks for the day. “The bus driver and the aide locked up the bus and left,” says Hill And by locked, Hill doesn’t mean with a key. “When I say locked, I mean they they closed it up,” says Hill But, Hill says, procedure wasn’t followed. “The procedure is they are supposed to walk the bus. So, before they lock a bus, before they leave a bus at anytime and park it anywhere they are supposed to walk each aisle individually and each row individually. No, that didn’t happen,” says Hill Crandall Sims reporting, “For six hours, we’re told the child was on board the bus, alone and no one knew.” In fact, we’re told, the child wasn’t found until 1:30 p.m. Monday. “They got on the bus to get ready to go to for their pick-ups at dismissal and the child was just sitting there,” says Hill The child, according to officials, wasn’t harmed and was taken to the school nurse. Their parent was called and the child went home. We asked, why no one noticed the child was missing from the classroom? “It would be like a normal school day, if one of your kids doesn’t come you make the assumption that the kids out sick or absent,” says Hill Hill says the school does have a policy to notify parents of an absence through an afternoon voicemail, by that time the child in this case had already gone home. Meanwhile, the bus driver and the aide are on leave tonight, pending an inquiry. Hill tells us the fact that they are on leave isn’t necessarily a punishment, but for their protection as well. Because of FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) the district cannot give the name of the elementary school the child involved attended.
