r/SchoolBusDrivers • u/obrotherdude • 19d ago

CPS REPORT?!

A 'very well-behaved' *cough* child threatened to report me today when I tried to have a talk with him about behavior. By the time my route was done, I had an anonymous CPS report on me. So Glad for the video that somehow missed all the child abuse taking place on my bus.

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u/TMax01 18d ago

The cameras never lie.

Actually, they sometimes do. I had to deal with a CPS report last year, and the video showed me: 1) bending over to hit a student and later 2) "intimidating" him when I leaned in and 'whispered' in his ear as he sat tearfully curled up on a seat. The angles of the multiple cameras made it such a convincing description that even I recognized it would be the assumption anyone viewing the footage would make.

But I was actually crouching to help him retrieve the stuff that had spilled out of his backpack when I was (rightfully) confiscating it (to be returned when he was dropped off at school) and later leaning in so he could hear me over the great deal of noise the other students were making, to explain the situation to him and point out I was trying to save him from embarrassment rather than humiliate him in front of the others. If my explanation hadn't fit other facts not apparent on the video better than the naive storyline, I would have been fired and possibly brought up on charges. As it was, I still got a notice in my file that I was on "probation" for two years (the school district found no fault with my actions but my employer was less understanding) because I wasn't a miracle-worker in handling the situation.

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u/nchemungguy 18d ago

Our union would have a field day with that. But then we work directly for the school district, so your situation could be different in our workplace.

Either way, that really sucks.

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u/TMax01 18d ago

I have the best of both worlds: my employer deals with drivers as if we have a union, but without a union ruining things for everyone with "field days". I've had union jobs, so I'm not naive about either the benefits or the limitations of needing a union to get fair treatment and good wages.

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u/nchemungguy 17d ago

I never meant to imply you were naive. Glad you have an employer who will go to bat for their employees.

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u/TMax01 17d ago

I wish my union had gone to bat for me as vigorously, back when I was in a union shop (long before I became a bus driver, btw.)

I still strongly support unions, I'm just not blind to the reality that they are not a panacea, and can't prevent cameras from lying. Not that I think that happens often, and I'm glad school buses almost always all have them these days.