Officials try to sort out case of children who were left behind

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Saturday, March 4, 2006 | 7:22 a.m.

Clark County School District's transportation department has determined that a bus driver did not intentionally leave behind 15 Canarelli Middle School students last week, as the youths had alleged.

However, investigators say the driver failed to notify authorities by radio that the students had chosen to remain on campus so that school authorities could make arrangements to have them taken home.

Jeanne Hamburg, an investigator for the district's transportation department, said she has pieced together a picture of the events after interviewing the students as well as the driver and his supervisors.

The incident occurred after school Feb. 24. The driver, who had been on the job only a few weeks, wanted to keep a closer eye on a group of boys he believed were responsible for marking the inside of the new bus with graffiti.

So before leaving school grounds, he told eight boys to get off the bus so that he could rearrange assigned seating, Hamburg said. As the boys filed off, seven girls chose to join them because they were related to some of the boys.

Instead of reboarding, the students walked away.

Students whom Hamburg interviewed, including some who had remained on the bus, claim that the driver told the boys they could no longer ride the bus.

The driver disputed those accounts.

Some of the students walked home from school, crossing busy streets and cutting through construction sites as shortcuts.

Paul Shelley, bus operations coordinator for the district, said the driver should have notified the school when the students did not get back aboard.

"The driver should have called the dean to come out," Shelley said. "At minimum, he should have notified the bus dispatcher."

The district will take no disciplinary action against the driver, Shelley said.

"We'll definitely be having a discussion with him on how to better handle the situation," Shelley said. The driver's identity has not been released by the district.

The episode will likely be turned into a case study used in future training sessions for transportation staff. "It's helpful to have our drivers talk about situations that are real, that they could potentially face," Shelley said.

Canarelli Principal Kristy Keller said she didn't learn of the incident until parents began calling the school Monday to complain.

The driver could have radioed the school office for assistance. "All the driver has to say is, 'I need help, meet me in the parking lot,' " Keller said. "I was here until 8 p.m. that night, I personally would have gone out there myself."

Keller also wished the students involved had come into the school instead of setting off for home.

"I've been here for three years, I opened this school," Keller said. "Kids know they can find me for anything."

That message was impressed upon the students this week, Keller said. "We've asked them, 'How would you handle this differently so that your personal safety wasn't at risk?' "Keller said. "Every single kid has said, 'I'd go back to school.' "

Robyn DeReaux, whose son got off the bus, said she asked her son why he didn't go back to the school. "He told me, 'Well, all the buses were gone, there was no one to take us,' " DeReaux said.

"The kids were upset, I don't think they were thinking logically like adults would in the same situation," she said. "The bus driver was the adult, he was supposed to be in charge."

The Sun received many calls and letters about the incident after publishing a story about it Tuesday. Nearly everyone chose sides, with those supporting the driver roughly equaling those who supported the students.

"I wish parents would take charge of their children and make them understand you wait and obey the rules," said Harriet Smith, a 25-year resident of Las Vegas. "Every little thing they call the school and complain - parents screaming their heads off because their little angels never did anything wrong."

But Michael Sommermeyer, whose son is in the eighth grade at Cadwallader Middle School, said based on personal experience, he is more inclined to side with the students.

Sommermeyer's son was one of about 20 students left behind at a bus stop on the way to school in November after all of the seats were taken. Students told their parents the driver said they would have to find their own way to school.

A transportation official later called and told Sommermeyer that the driver claimed to have told the students another bus would be along.

"If that were true, I can't believe all 20 kids would leave like they did," Sommermeyer said. "There's always going to be one kid who waits."