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A South Paris woman says an Oxford Hills school bus driver should not have slapped her 9-year-old son and she is pushing for stiff discipline.
Melissa Kist said her son’s School Administrative District 17 bus driver pulled over on Oct. 23 because the boy behind her son had been hitting him and another boy with a seat belt. After speaking to the child who was wielding the strap, the driver slapped Kist’s son on top of the head and pointed her finger in his face.
Kist said her son, a fourth-grader, was trying to explain what happened when he was struck. She spoke with the transportation director, who investigated, then referred her to Superintendent Richard Colpitts. In a meeting with him on Tuesday, she was shown a school bus video of the incident.
“She slapped him on the head and told him to be quiet. He said it hurt him,” Kist said. Kist said she believes the driver should be terminated immediately. She said she was told by the school that it was the driver’s first offense but that any information about disciplinary action or the investigation is confidential.
Kist said the usual driver was not driving the bus a week after the incident.
Kist said she knows of no previous problems on that bus. She said her son used to ride a standard-size bus but because he was not sitting down when he was supposed to, he was transferred onto a smaller bus.
Paris Police Detective Richard Belanger confirmed the department is looking into the incident at the same time the school is conducting its own internal review. The results of the police investigation will be turned over to the Oxford County District Attorney’s Office, which will decide whether charges should be filed.
Colpitts confirmed that the district is investigating a parent’s allegation and that it had shared with her a video, but would not release specifics.
“We do not condone nor do we support the use of physical striking in order to discipline or modify the behavior of a student. It is both illegal and unkind,” Colpitts said. “If an event has occurred, then we follow up and make sure kids are kept safe. We have to (respect) the rights of students and the rights of employees. That takes some time and sometimes parents get frustrated.”
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