In the wake of the 10 minute You Tube video showing a Wiley Intermediate School student harassing his bus driver, administration for the Watertown School District say they are working to ensure this never happens again.
“When you look at that video the vulgarity is shocking. I was very concerned also with the distractions that that caused the bus driver and jeopardizing the safety of everybody on the bus,” said Watertown School District superintendent Terry Fralick.
The incident happened about four weeks ago, according to Superintendent Fralick. The child, whose name can not be released, was disciplined according to the school’s policy and finished out the year.
“Policies are reflective, generally, of the age and with the elementary students we try to really use as much counseling rather then suspensions,” said Superintendent Fralick.
He continued that the school works to use incidents like this one to educate their student body on the consequences of such behavior in a pro-active manner.
“In some cases it works, in others it doesn’t. We have people that are repetitive in their behaviors,” Superintendent Fralick told MyABC50.com.
But a parent of a student who has rode the bus throughout the year with the distruptive student, says that her son fears the school bus ride everyday and doesn’t even want to go to school.
“I am sure there are more than a few parents, which after seeing that would be very uncomfortable with having their children on the bus. Our job, working with Freeman Bus Corporation, is to reassure those people that we are on top of it now that we have this unfortunate incident to work with,” said Superintendent Fralick.
So what does that mean for the other students attending Wiley that will encounter the child again next year? Superintendent Fralick says that they are working now to put rules and security in place.
Because of the severity of the occurrence, Superintendent Fralick says that the school will be making sure that the student is monitored while on the bus, if allowed on the same bus, with the assistance of supervision additional to the bus driver. He continued to tell MyABC50.com that in the case of other students measures are being discussed to ensure their continued and enforced safety.
For more information and to hear directly from Superintendent Terry Fralick, watch the complete video story.
