'Policies and procedures may not have been followed'
By Denise Smith Amos Enquirer staff writer Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Crosby Elementary School kindergartner Richie Wabnitz, 5, was left on a school bus in the driver's driveway. His mother, Bonnie, wants some answers from school officials.
Although many parents wonder whether their kindergartner is ready to ride the bus on his own, most school officials say they're usually mature enough.
Bus drivers are given procedures by their school districts and guidance from federal and state authorities. The Ohio Department of Education allows each district to write policies to ensure that students aren't left on buses.
The National Highway Safety Traffic Administration guidelines give bus drivers these tips:
Don't rush and skip part of the loading and unloading procedures, even if you're late on a route.
Don't deal with on-bus problems when loading or unloading students.
Count and recount students at every bus stop every day. Know how many should get on at a bus stop. Count them as they get off.
If you can't account for a student outside the bus, secure the bus and then check around and under the bus.
For school bus safety tips for parents: www.nhtsa.dot.gov/CPS/newtips/pages/Tip10.htm
The boy was discovered and taken back to school unharmed, but his mother said Tuesday that she wants to know why the school took more than two hours to notify her about the incident and what the school will do to prevent such mistakes in the future.
Five-year-old Richie Wabnitz, of Harrison, took his usual bus to half-day kindergarten at Crosby Elementary about noon Monday when the bus driver, a substitute, inadvertently let the children off on the side of the school near the playground, instead of in front of the school, where their teacher was waiting.
Most of the kindergartners got off the bus and walked around to the front, but Richie thought it safer to stay on the bus and wait to be taken to the proper drop-off site, said Bonnie Wabnitz, his mother.
Instead, the bus driver, whom the school will not identify, drove the bus to her home, about 10 minutes away, and parked it in her driveway.
Wabnitz said school officials told her that it was not correct procedure; the driver was supposed to check every seat in the bus and then drop the bus off at a lot near Harrison High School. Southwest district officials Tuesday issued a statement, saying "policies and procedures may not have been followed" and that the district is investigating before taking "appropriate measures."
Richie sat on the bus for about 20 to 25 minutes, Wabnitz said, crying and afraid, until he got up enough courage to go to the bus driver's front door and knock.
The driver took him to school and left him with office staff, who informed his teacher.
The kindergarten teacher later told Wabnitz that she had noticed Richie was absent, but was delayed in finding out why because of a school fire drill.
Wabnitz said the school didn't call her about the incident until after 2:30 p.m.
Wabnitz reported the incident to a Hamilton County sheriff's deputy, who wrote an "information only" report, which does not include any child endangerment charges but is a notice for law enforcement to be aware in case of another incident, sheriff's spokesman Steve Barnett said.
Wabnitz, a widow and part-time waitress, said she didn't know how traumatic it was for Richie until he came home Monday night and wouldn't let her out of his sight.
Now he's too afraid to ride the bus.
"Anything could have happened," Wabnitz said. "Had (the driver) gone to McDonald's or parked on the street instead of her driveway, he could have been lost or stolen, and we wouldn't have known."
Wabnitz said she is gluing a photo of her son with his name, address and phone number onto his backpack.
And she'll be driving him to school from now on.