School bus driver on leave after parent’s video goes viral

Photo: DeSoto County School District buses parked in a school lot. (Bob Bakken/desotocountynews.com)

A DeSoto County Schools (DCS) bus driver is on leave after a Facebook live video was posted showing the driver preventing children from getting off the bus.

The video was posted by Misty Grubbs, posting about the bus taking youngsters home from Center Hill Elementary School. Parents were concerned about their children coming home late from school and when they found the bus, the driver was refusing to let them leave.  

Reports are the bus was stopped by the unidentified driver after a student refused to give a cell phone to the driver, apparently violating a rule against phone usage on the bus.

Students were seen yelling and screaming, and at one point in the several minute long video, one student was seen being removed through a window. 

You can watch the video at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/100015936459914/videos/1669511520235935/ 

In a statement from DCS Supt. Cory Uselton, the driver is still employed with the district.  

The bus driver was a substitute for that route, and a new driver has been assigned to the bus route for the remainder of the school year.  The bus driver is still an employee of DeSoto County Schools. – Supt. Cory Uselton

Parents have expressed their upset about how the driver handled the situation. At the same time, other drivers are going to social media defending the driver.  One post shows the bus rules and guidelines about riding the school bus, including one rule that prohibits the use of electronic devices while on the bus.  

This may not help in an effort to recruit people to drive a school bus, since the district started the year having difficulty filling all of the routes with drivers. Uselton said routes are being covered but more bus drivers can be hired to fill routes.