Bus incident alarms parent

Jenny Earnest wasn't sure what to think when her 6-year-old told her an older boy had pulled down his pants and exposed himself on the school bus.
More frustrating, she said she didn't know who to talk to in the school district. And no one was returning her calls.
Weeks went by and still no answers.
After finally speaking to Explorer K-8 Principal Ray Pinder when she couldn't reach someone from transportation, she said she was skeptical how the issue would be handled. She said Pinder told her it would be difficult to investigate, because she was bringing the issue to him after so much time had elapsed since the incident. Her son also didn't know specifically what day it happened and wasn't sure if he knew the boy's first name.
"But then the issue was kind of passed on to the bus driver who called me and said that he would handle it," Earnest said. "I was kind of nervous about that because I don't think he's really trained to handle these types of situations. I didn't want this to end up with this other kid knowing my son told on him. I didn't want my 6-year-old to get beat up or something."
Trying to contact the superintendent's office was met with similar results. Earnest said it seemed like everyone was leaving for Thanksgiving break and no one was in the office. Two more weeks went by and her son had yet to be asked about the incident.
"I just don't feel like this was being treated as a priority," Earnest said. "I know you're supposed to expect that certain things do go on on the bus, but still - it just seemed like this was being ignored and I'm not sure where to go or what the chain of command is."
Linda Smith, director of transportation for the district, said she could not talk about Earnest's case, but added that, procedurally, parents can contact either the school or the transportation office if they have a problem or complaint.
She said many times messages have to be left for transportation employees because they are working rotating shifts and are out of the office.
If a parent has a concern, a message is left with their child's driver to contact them and that it's up to drivers to check their written messages and respond. From there, it's handled on a case-by-case basis depending on the parents' complaint.
"We do it as expediently as we can," Smith said.
In some cases, such as Earnest's, principals refer parent complaints back to the transportation department for drivers and other transportation employees to look into.
Smith would not say whether her department is looking into Earnest's complaint.
"I know Mr. Pinder has talked to her," Smith said.
Pinder said last Friday he was not aware of a complaint filed at the district office, but said in this case it's difficult to investigate an incident without more detail.
He said school bus footage is many times only kept for a day to a day and a half or not at all if there are no cameras on the bus.
As to Earnest's complaint, Pinder said he thought school officials had at least spoken to Earnest's son about the incident. He added he would call Earnest that day.
Despite phone calls to Pinder's office throughout the day Wednesday, he could not be reached for comment by press deadline.
Meanwhile, Earnest said that on Monday, school officials did finally speak to her son about the incident and that she's happy they seem to be moving forward with her complaint - even if it is almost a month later.
However, even if this matter is resolved, she said she would like to see more done to improve not only procedures when dealing with parents but also getting more parents involved to improve behavior on school buses.
She said she understands that children are going to be children and occasionally act up on school buses. However, she said she hears more and more stories about other behaviors that worry her - ones that bus drivers can't always handle alone.
"I know my son has been picking up some odd behaviors on the bus, and I know there's always going to be some stuff that just goes on," Earnest said. "It's a big job to take on, and I don't think I can do it on my own - but already just talking to other parents about this I've gotten some good ideas that I know I'd like to share."