BREAKING NEWS: Bus driver’s punishment to be made public Monday

The punishment for a Corbin School bus driver who admittedly slapped a first grade student during a bus drill is expected to be made public Monday.

Corbin Independenet Schools Superintendent Ed McNeel said Friday that an investigation into the incident is complete and a statement regarding the outcome should be available Monday.

The incident in question is that of a first grade student being slapped in the face by his bus driver, who is yet to be named, but admitted to the incident and even showed some remorse for his actions.

The driver claimed that the incident happened as a result of a reflex to being poked in the face by the student while he was allegedly horsing around following a bus-evacuation drill.
While he was willing to speak of the matter on the condition that he remain unnamed until the conclusion of an investigation by the school district, the driver was adamant in saying that he wants to remain a bus driver for the Corbin School District, adding that from the moment the incident happened, he wished it never had.

 "From the very instant, I regretted that I happened," he said. "I certainly meant no harm to the boy and in hindsight, I shouldn’t have touched him at all."

Following the incident, the driver said he told the child he would like to speak to the boys’ mother when they arrived at his stop, at which point the child darted off the bus to retrieve a parent.

"I knew he was going to tell what had happened, so I wanted to tell exactly what the situation was and tell my side," he said. "Again, I apologized and I wished it hadn’t happened, but it did and you have to deal with it."

The News Journal previously received a copy of a statement released by Assistant Superintendent Darrell Tremmaine, stating that the administration is aware of the bus incidents in question. The statement went on to say that "these are personnel actions and are under investigation by the superintendent. The Board is not allowed to comment on either situation because they are personnel issues."

The response states that the records requested contain information of a personal nature where the public disclosure thereof, at this time, would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

We will have an updated version of this story here at our website as soon as we have more information.