One NY School's Wrong Reaction to Its Bus Driver's Texting

This is just plain wrong.

Last Thursday, after overhearing her older sister talking about a lecture she had attended on the dangers of texting while driving, this 6 year-old neighbor of mine piped up: "Hey, my bus driver does the same thing!"

Not wanting to jump to any conclusions, my neighbors called around to other parents, who checked with their children. Every single one of them verified the story. Even worse, the driver apparently made a point of concealing his cell phone every time he approached bus stops where parents were present. 

These parents called the school, and were assured that the principal would speak to the bus driver. But the next day, one of these girls told her mother that the driver was at it again, texting while driving. Since the school apparently failed to correct the problem, this parent took it up a few notches, reporting the driver to New York City's Department of Transportation.

When the school found out, their initial reaction (which they later recanted) was quite telling: "But now the driver may lose his job!"

Last time I checked, a school's primary responsibility was its students' safety - not the well-being of its faculty or school bus drivers.