PALMDALE, Fla. — In Palmdale on Monday afternoon, the Glades County School District confirmed an 11-year-old student was unexpectedly dropped off on 3rd street near Highway 27, nearly a mile away from her designated bus stop.
Christine Baxter, the student’s grandmother, was waiting at the normal pick-up spot and started to get worried when the school bus never came.
Baxter says, “She texted me and said that we're in Palmdale. So, I waited a couple of minutes, and I'm like... it never came, it never came."
Baxter called her and found out she was dropped off in the wrong place, walking down the road near the highway.
“She was scared… she’s eleven. She’s never been dropped off on the side of the road.”
We checked with the Glades County School District, and the district’s director of administrative services, Ron Boils, confirmed that claim. He said it was the girl’s first time riding the bus home this year, and the driver didn’t know she was on board. When the driver found out, she let the girl out, because the girl told her she was close to home.
Boils said the driver did not follow protocol and will be disciplined.
Baxter expressed her concerns for her granddaughter's safety, emphasizing, "She's an eleven-year-old girl. Anything could have happened."
In response, the Glades County School District is taking immediate steps to make sure this doesn’t happen in the future. It says it will revise bus policies to ensure drivers are aware of what to do if a student's transportation plan changes. Additionally, all bus drivers will receive additional training in bus stop safety.
