School bus driver cited after talk with Marine son
Mar 20, 2013, 6:25 PM
After answering a phone-call from her Marine son, a school bus driver was suspended five days without pay, in line with the school district’s policy.
According to The Miami Herald, school bus driver Rossana Lucas received a citation after talking to her Marine son she hadn’t spoken to for seven months on her cell-phone, while driving a school bus.
Lucas was about two blocks away from the bus depot, with a completely empty bus, when her her 21-year-old son called.
Lucas knew instantly it was her son, because of the restricted number the call came from. Knowing she could have gotten in trouble, Lucas still took the call from Michael, who was in a very violent part of Iraq.
“Like a mother, in my heart, I had no choice,” Lucas said.
The conversation lasted less than a couple of minutes, as Michael simply told his mom he was alright and that he loved her.
After hearing the context of the situation, Superintendent Robert Runcie and Lucas’ supervisors are reconsidering the full extent of the punishment, if they still wish to punish her.
“Context does matter,” Runcie told board members. “There’s some definite circumstances here that I think warrant taking another look at this.”
