An Atlanta Public School bus driver is calling out administrators for mistakes she says were made during the snowstorm that left hundreds of students on buses, for extended periods , that at times, stretched into the early morning hours.
"First of all they made a big mistake, they released the middle school first, when they should have released the elementary school first get them little bitty kids home first," said Valory Crudop, an APS bus driver.
Crudop also says since bad weather was a possibility, bus drivers should have stayed near schools after dropping children off in the morning.
"Once we dropped them off we should have stayed right there. We should have never come back to the depot," said Crudup.
About 1,500 APS students were stranded on buses or stuck at school. By comparison, DeKalb County reported only handful stranded students.
"All bus drivers stationed themselves in a way that if they did have to release themselves early, they would be conveniently located near the schools where the kids needed to be picked up." said Superintendent Michael Thurmond, with DeKalb County Schools
"It was a mess to me. I don't understand it, but I just thank the Lord we all made it home safely ," said Crudup.
"All of our children were delivered safely, certainly not in the time frame, we wanted, but they got home safely," said Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Erroll Davis. "What we are going to do is sit down when this is all over, and it is not over yet, and see what we could have done better."
Many parents thanked the bus drivers for their heroic efforts in getting children home safely.
"We have wonderful people who work for Atlanta Public Schools, and some of the systems is what is broken, "said Debbie Whitlock, an APS parent.
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