A bus driver for the Council Bluffs/Lewis Central Community School District was fired this week for leaving unruly students alongside the road. Superintendent Mark Schweer said the female bus driver — who he declined to identify — became frustrated with the students’ behavior and stopped the bus on Highway 275 near 11th Street in Council Bluffs, just north of the Lake Manawa State Park. The driver then ordered the students off the bus. Schweer says “It’s not just an issue with the bus driver. What led up to it was the inappropriate behavior on the part of a number of students on the bus, and we’re still trying to get to the bottom of that.” The incident took place Tuesday. Schweer said from what he’s been told, the students’ behavior was entirely unacceptable. He says the students “were throwing things inside the bus, out of the bus, being loud, boisterous and unruly. Some students were also out of their seats.” The driver called another bus to pick up the students, all of whom got home safely. Some ended up walking while others rode the second bus. The drop-off site for the students is normally about one-and-a-half miles from where they were left. Schweer said the driver was terminated from her position and a meeting was held to address the issue of how to deal with disruptive kids on the bus. He says the district’s transportation director held a meeting Wednesday morning with all of the bus drivers. Schweer says he made sure that “they clearly understood that it’s not acceptable to stop up alongside the road and have children get off the bus.” The school district’s policy is for drivers to return unruly children to the school.
