District 15 Responds to DTU Statement, Firing of Bus Driver

District 15 Superintendent Scott Thompson and the District 15 Transportation Union agree on one thing; terminating the probationary employment of the bus driver involved in a hit-and-run accident Monday was the right step to take.

Both sides also agree that there was no excuse for the driver’s failure to immediately report the incident as safety protocol in District 15 dictates.

“Protocol is that drivers are told to call in accidents whenever students are on the bus, to call police and a school district nurse will go to the scene to check the children for injuries,” Thompson said. “That did not happen, the driver did not follow protocol.”

The DTU also said in their statement that the driver’s failure to report the accident is without excuse.

But as in the weeks and months preceding the incident, that is where the consensus stops.

Thompson took issue with a release provided to Palatine Patch Tuesday morning that criticized the district’s handling of the accident.

, “the probationary driver was trained by and hired from an outsourced bus company.”

Thompson acknowledged the driver previously worked for an outsource company, but explained many of the drivers currently employed by District 15 have as well, in addition to coming from other school districts.

He added that the driver did receive training through District 15, and it is desirable to employ drivers with prior bus driving experience of some kind.

In the release, the DTU also stated that the driver was involved in an incident last week where a tree branch ended up breaking and/or damaging school bus windows.

“The first accident happened on a narrow street, where a tree branch was hanging out over the street; the tree branch hit a window and the window broke,” Thompson said. “We don’t want drivers swerving into oncoming traffic, this really could have happened to anybody.”

Thompson took issue with the DTU’s claim that they were never notified of any events involving the driver, and reiterated that the driver had union representation at the meeting when he was terminated earlier today.

Thompson said also that in previous instances, the DTU has filed grievances with the school district when they have tried to disciplined employees for similar accidents.

“In the past, the DTU hasn’t supported us when we feel discipline is necessary, other similar instances have been argued by the DTU,” Thompson said.

The DTU added in the release they are utterly appalled at the district’s handling of the event.

Thompson admits proper protocol wasn’t followed by the driver, but said that once the district was made aware of the incident, police were called by the school district, children were interviewed by the director of the transportation department and were checked by nurses. 

A final point brought up by the DTU was their difficulty understanding why the school district would offer to provide a letter of recommendation for the terminated driver. 

"The Transportation Director [Tom Bramley] offered to provide a character reference for the driver. The director will not support the former employee getting another job driving a bus," Thompson said.

He will comment on his character so the person can land another job outside of transportation. The District will review any written letter prior to the former employee receiving it, Thompson said.