EVERETT, Wash. – A school bus driver’s decision to keep windows closed on a warm day, despite repeated requests from students, is part of the reason why she is now out of a job.
Video obtained through a public records request shows the driver telling the students that they were on a “borrowed bus” and unable to open the windows because “the alarms will go off.”
At one point during the April 19th ride, a student shouts, “Amaya passed out on the bus. She’s too hot.”
“Okay, right now, can you fan her,” asked the driver.
Students tried to cool down the girl who passed out. Eventually, she was able to stand on her own, and a student asked the driver to let them off even though it was not their regular stop. The driver did.
Mary Waggoner with Everett Public Schools said that was the wrong decision. She also said the driver should have opened windows for students when they said they were uncomfortable.
“I was sorry to see that she was not more compassionate with students, and that also students were allowed to get off the bus at places that were not their normal stops,” said Waggoner.
The driver was fired from Durham Transportation, the company Everett Public Schools contracts with for bus service.
