In Floresville, Texas, an elementary school bus driver was caught on tape verbally bullying a young girl on the bus, and ultimately urging other students to join in.
The video shows the driver of bus No. 67 for Floresville Elementary School harassing a young girl, who was crying for an unknown reason.
Instead of soothing the little kid or asking what is wrong, Ms. Pat, the name she is known as on the bus, puts her in the spotlight.
The bus driver has not been identified, but her immature behavior can be seen and heard in the recording.
Ms. Pat can be heard calling the sobbing girl a “cry baby” over and over again. But she doesn’t stop there. Just moments later, she invites the entire bus to berate and embarrass the poor girl.
She can be heard leading the ridicule of the little girl. “Ready? Cry, cry, cry!”
Even though almost the entire bus is taunting the miserable student, she can still be heard crying hysterically in the background.
“‘I want my mama,'” Ms. Pat hollers, mocking the young child.
The video is said to have been taken in February, and once parents learned of the bus driver’s actions, they were livid.
Monna Perez, whose children ride bus No. 67, was almost brought to tears when she saw the unbelievable video. Like most parents, she can’t understand how an adult could sink low enough to make fun of a crying child.
“If you can’t bully at school, why are they allowing it on the bus?” Perez told KSAT Defenders.
Ironically, there is actually a sign on this particular bus, like many school buses, telling children that no teasing or bullying is allowed on the bus.
One mother, who asked to be identified only as Lucy, said that she recalls her son asking her to pick him up from school that day, instead of putting him on the bus. She said that she now understands why he wouldn’t want to ride the bus anymore.
“She treated the child as if she was a child herself, bullying the child,” Lucy tells KSAT Defenders. “Having the other children follow her example, that’s just wrong.”
The Defenders spoke to Floresville Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Sherri Bays, who said she was shocked and horrified when she saw the video.
“I was very concerned with that and it’s definitely not appropriate,” Bays said. “I think she’s acting very childish and immature.”
Bays said that the bus driver was disciplined, but not terminated. She did return to her usual route on the Monday following the now viral video.
“I expect that person to learn from that mistake and we will continue to monitor that,” Bays said.
However, Bays finally told ABC News that the driver, who has still not been identified, has now officially been terminated by the school district for her inappropriate behavior.