UPDATE:
St. Landry Parish Schools Superintendent, Patrick Jenkins, says the school district is investigating.
He said, “We have contacted licensing as well as other agencies that respond to these incidents. We take this very seriously and we’re going to get to the bottom of this as soon as we possibly can.”
ORIGINAL STORY:
An Opelousas mother says she is furious after her 3-year-old son was left alone on a school bus Monday for more than 7 hours.
Robbie Myers says she put her son, Amir, on the bus around 8:15 a.m. Monday heading to Head Start.
Myers, who is a hairstylist, says like clockwork at around 3:00 p.m. she starts preparing for her young son to come home where they read books together, have supper and then spend a few hours watching television before going to bed.
At 3:35 p.m. Myers said the bus carrying her son stopped at its usual stop and Amir was let off the bus.
“Immediately, I knew something was off. I could just look at him and tell something was wrong” she said. And that’s when she noticed that Amir still had his back pack.
“He still had his book sack on his back, and that’s strange because book sacks at Head Start go home only on Fridays.”
Myers said her concerns grew when she noticed that Amir had hours old tear stains on his face.
“I grabbed him and pulled him up close and I could tell he had been crying for awhile.” she said.
At 3 years old, Myers said, Amir is an old soul.
“I asked him, Amir what’s wrong and what he told me maam, what he told me broke my heart.”
Myers paused for a second and then said Amir told her.
“Mama I been crying for you. I wanted you. They didn’t let me out. I was on the bus and I was crying.”
She immediately reached out to her son’s teacher who confirmed that the 3 year old did not attend school on Monday.
“She told me Amir did not step foot in her classroom today.”
Myers and Amir’s father then met with school personnel, including the bus driver and the two aides on the bus.
“There was alot of back and forth about what happened and nothing was being accomplished and they all started blaming each other and yet I still don’t have an explanation about why my child was left on the bus all day.”
Myers says she is seeking answers now from the local school board and plans to meet with “upper level” officials Tuesday.
As for Amir, Myers said, “he’s afraid to get on the bus now. As a matter of fact he told me just a while ago that he’s don’t wanna go back to school anymore.”
KLFY was unable to confirm the allegations with the Schools Superintendent.
Stay tuned, however, as we will do a follow-up Tuesday.
