Fights between students are typical, especially toward the end of the school year. Manystudentsareampedup and ready to start their summer, so tensions run high.
What is not typical is an adult spurring on the fight. Typically, when a fight breaks out among students, it is up to the school faculty to break up the fight.
A few weeks ago, a fight broke out on a school bus between two students. However, instead of stopping the busandbreakingupthefight, the bus driver was egging the fight on.
A39-second-longvideohas been circulating about the fight. It shows one student hoveredoveranotherstudent hitting him. At first, the onlooking students aren’t aggressive, some are videoing.
That was when the bus driver stepped in. He can be heard on the video telling the student in the advantageous position to “beat the hell” out of the other student. After that comment, the other students went wild.
Brent McDonald was interview by News4. He has three children who attend Blanchard Public Schools. He said he found out about the video through one of his children’s friends.
“They told me basically what you see in the video that a kid jumped on another kid,” McDonald said in the interview. “I don’t know the whole story and then you hear the bus driver encouraging it.”
McDonald said he couldn’t believe that the bus driver would be the one to spur on the fight between the students. Then, he watched the video, and saw the proof.
McDonald said that made his blood boil.
“Iwasmad.Iwasinstantly mad, you know? I place no blame on the kids whatsoever because kids are going to be kids. But those bus drivers are there to protect our kids,” McDonald said. “And we’re supposed to trust the schools to do that while they’re on that bus and if the adult on the bus is going to be antagonizing the fight, then, you know, it just made me pretty angry as a parent, especially one that has two of my children ride on that bus.”
McDonaldsaidthathehas never had any issues with the Blanchard’s transportation personally. Yet, after his story aired, multiple parents reached out to him with their issues.
Blanchard Superintendent Brady Barnes said that the school district is aware of the incident and is investigating.
“Our most important job here is to provide a climate that’s safe and secure for all students here. And we brought the bus driver in that morning,” Barnes said. “We didn’t have school Friday. [We] brought him in that morning and started investigating the matter.”
Barnessaidthebusdriver, who has been a longtime employee with the district, has been relieved of his duties.