It was quite a scene for a busload of middle school students in Montgomery County, Maryland, as a bus driver screamed at a parent who entered his bus.
With Westland Middle School students on board, the cellphone video, shared with WTOP news partner NBC Washington, shows the driver confronting a parent who enters the bus at a stop near Lynbrook Drive and Gladwyne Drive in Bethesda last month.
The parents asks, “Why is the heat on high?” and “Why do you stop to yell at the kids everyday?” The driver continues to scream, demanding she get off.
Montgomery County Public Schools spokesman Derek Turner said protocol requires anyone trying to talk to a driver do so from outside the bus as a safety precaution and the parent didn’t comply.
Further review of the bus footage, Turner said, reveals the driver asked the parents to exit the bus numerous times before the situation escalated, but he did acknowledge the driver was out of line.
“The bus driver acted inappropriately and unprofessionally,” Turner added.
After numerous complaints against the driver’s behavior, officials went back to review surveillance footage.
“There have been concerns raised by students, but what we’ve seen from our video is that students have been extremely disrespectful to the bus driver, which has created tension on the bus,” Turner said.
Turner also acknowledged complaints the driver is too aggressive behind the wheel, which has led to safety concerns for some parents, but said there is no evidence to back up those claims.
The driver is still behind the wheel, but has been reassigned to another bus route.
Watch the NBC Washington report below.
