SHEFFIELD LAKE, Ohio — After parents raised concerns, the Sheffield-Sheffield Lake City School District is reviewing what happened during a bus ride home this week.
Rachel Grasso told News 5 her son was about 20 minutes late Monday and came home anxious over his afternoon bus experience.
“He already has a diagnosed anxiety disorder since he was 8. It was a panic for him to even start riding the bus in the first place,” she said. “So he’s just kind of been in an interesting state of anxiety, just wondering what’s going on and kind of confused.”
She said she decided to keep the 11-year-old home from school on Tuesday after he told her his bus driver stopped and left mid-route.
“The bus driver asked them to quiet down several times. They did not. She said, ‘I’m done,’ and parked the bus and got off the bus,” she said of her conversation with her son. “He couldn’t really see what was going on, but he said he sat there for what felt like a long time. And then a man with a blue shirt got on the bus and sat down and continued the route without any explanation.”
Grasso said she posted on a public neighborhood Facebook group to verify her son’s story. While some fellow parents said their children had similar accounts, others sympathized with the driver’s actions.
“I know from some of the things that have happened here in the neighborhood, especially with the e-bikes and the scooters, there’s not a whole lot of respect for adults or elders,” said neighbor and Avon Lake City Council member Jon Morrow.
He believes the driver may have acted appropriately.
“If you’re going to lose your cool, I think that stopping the bus and calling somebody to relieve you is probably the better thing to do, rather than to do something dangerous or dumb,” he said.
Grasso said she was frustrated by what she believes was a lack of communication from the school district.
“Regardless of whatever the situation was, I feel like something that serious should have gotten a notification afterwards with the facts of the incident. But we didn’t hear anything,” she said.
On Tuesday, Superintendent Mike Cook confirmed to News 5 that a driver pulled over an unruly bus and was relieved by another driver during the afternoon drop-off.
“This is an entirely appropriate response when a driver needs to address student behavior. The driver had communicated with the bus garage that she was having difficulty getting the students to settle down. One of our veteran drivers heard her communication over the radio, drove to meet her and the bus, and volunteered to finish the route,” Cook said via email.
He said the driver and an adult aide were both on board the bus the entire time before help arrived and the driver did not make any inappropriate comments.
“Simply put, the driver needed some assistance and was willing to ask for it,” Cook said.
He estimated students arrived to their destinations about 15 minutes later than usual. He said the district will be reviewing bus cameras to determine whether any students will face discipline.
“It is important to emphasize that this situation is not representative of the day-to-day transportation experience in our district,” said Cook. “Our drivers work hard to safely transport students, and this particular situation is actually an example of our transportation team supporting one another when assistance was needed.”
Grasso said she believes the driver should have completed the route rather than delaying students.
“I understand that there are a lot of children these days that lack respect and manners, but it’s not all children. And it’s not fair to punish an entire bus of children because you’re unable to manage the ones that are upsetting you,” she said. “At the end of the day, no matter how you feel about kids’ respect level, they are children. And someone is paid to be responsible to get them home.”
She planned to drive her son to school for the time being, following the situation.
Cook said the district is actively looking to hire more bus drivers and believes the shortage of substitute drivers can contribute to overall stress.
Catherine Ross is the Lorain County reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on X @CatherineRossTV, on Facebook CatherineRossTV or email her at Catherine.Ross@wews.com.
