Child safe after LTUSD bus driver ‘loses’ him
By Kathryn Reed
It was probably the longest hour of Libi and Jason Fenley’s life. Their son was missing. He didn’t get off the school bus at day care. And no one knew where he was.
Corben is a 6-year-old first-grader at Sierra House Elementary School in South Lake Tahoe. His teacher and principal confirmed he got on the bus at about 3:20pm last Friday.
Jason Corben got a call at approximately 4:10pm from the day care center saying the bus did not drop Corben off.
“We freaked out because we knew neither of us had him,” Libi Fenley told Lake Tahoe News. “I called the bus garage. They said he was not there.”
South Lake Tahoe Police Department received a call from the Fenleys at 4:34pm Dec. 11. In about five minutes officers were at the bus garage.
The bus driver, who is reportedly a veteran at her job – even a trainer, searched the bus three times. No Corben.
“The bus driver said he got off at the wrong stop,” Fenley said. She said this before film from the cameras was reviewed.
All LTUSD school buses have two cameras, some have three. They are there for safety and security.
There was quick talk among the Fenleys, officers and Lake Tahoe Unified School District transportation officials that a search should begin in the neighborhood where Corben may have gotten off. This was going on despite there being no proof he got off somewhere else.
Then suddenly there was banging on the bus garage door. It was Corben.
He had actually been on that bus that was supposedly searched by the driver. He had fallen asleep. It’s not the first time. And he’s not the first kid to do so.
“He was fine, he was scared. He woke up in the dark in a scary place,” Fenley said of her son.
But she’s not happy how the district handled things. When Corben got on the bus Monday the driver didn’t offer an apology. Fenley was flabbergasted Christy Blach, director of transportation, seemed to care more about her employee than Fenley’s son. She was miffed Superintendent Jim Tarwater had not responded to her email.
Blach was short with Lake Tahoe News on Dec. 15. “He was at the bus garage for maybe 10 minutes,” she said.
That might be true, but no knew it. Corben was found at 5:04pm that Friday.
Tarwater didn’t know about the incident until Lake Tahoe News called on Tuesday. He said that is not normal protocol.
“I would say they slipped up, didn’t they?” he said of not being told. “I can see why she would be upset,” Tarwater said of the distraught mother.
Fenley said, “If the driver is not going to be accountable, what procedures are going to be put in place other than flashlights will be used for looking for items (and people) on the bus?”
With neither the superintendent nor the board being told about the incident by staff, change couldn’t happen as fast as Fenley would have liked.
Bet the parents will be demanding money next. Typical.
Hey kid. Stay awake for 5 minutes and make it to your bus stop.
The pawning of responsibility into others starts early I guess. Not the dopey kids fault at all right? Please.
Happened to me in kindergarten. Had my address pinned to my shirt and the driver dropped me off 4 blocks from my house. I walked around the neighborhood screaming for my mommy. Good ole days, eh, momma didnt even sue for my life long therapy.
Blaming the child for this is completely uncalled for. Thank goodness the child was found before he had to spend all weekend locked up in the bus barn.This could have turned out much worse than it did.
Agree with ‘my thoughts’. Expecting children to make ‘adult decisions’ leads us down a slippery slope. What comes next, child labor?
The bus driver should’ve been more diligent in her three(!)searches of the vehicle.
Busy parents, too busy to have kids, are always looking for someone else to watch their kids. When something goes wrong the parents blame everyone except themselves.
On the other hand, the bus driver must have done a lousy job of inspecting the bus.
Maybe the veteran driver needs to retire if she “searched” the bus 3 times and couldn’t find a 5 year old!
Recently saw a movie on Netflix last month where a boy was on bus and froze to death so it’s not funny and the parents are not neglectful they made arrangements for their child obviously the comment they can’t take care of their children is made by a high society … That doesn’t understand real life. Blue collar .a
Nothing in this world is “fail safe”. A child fell asleep and was found. No need for lawsuits, no need for an article in the paper, no need for parents to start pointing fingers.
I’m guessing the kid is not going to fall asleep on the bus today.
Get rid of buses and have one stay at home parent take care of the kids, getting them to school and staying out of harm and trouble. The pd gets a missing kid from bus, school or home every day. Parents should raise their own kids not the school. You need a license to drive a car and even to catch a fish! How bout a license to raise your kids and take care of them. Oh cry me a river about the money, you need two SUVs a boat and a trip to Hawaii. Scale down and care about your children.
First of all anyone who commented and does not have kids needs to shut your mouth…..second of all this is a child….they fall asleep and that’s what happened…..he is just a little boy and a young one at that! Quit blaming the kid, parents and start blaming the person who was responsible for this! Thank god the day care center brought this to the attention of the parents! We need that day care providers name printed in the paper because they were on top of this!!…everyone who is making assumptions and was not directly involved are all idiots…..the bus driver said she searched the bus 3 times…..you cannot miss a 6 year old child asleep on a bus! Bottom line is the bus driver is the one who screwed up and she needs to go! If you have a job where you are responsible for someone else’s children and you fail you need to go. No second chances when it comes to someone else’s children. Yes I have kids and yes I know what I’m talking about…the parents need to file a formal complaint with LTUSD. If that does not yield the proper results they need to file a complaint with the State Board of Education and this person needs to be relieved of her job.
So yeah I’m done….peace out
The lack of responsibility for my missing child is what made us go to the paper, no lawsuit will be filled and we don’t want the bus driver to lose her job, overall we are happy with the school system and the bus drivers, however, as good as the outcome was we expect a change of procedure to find a lost child before all the police in town are looking for him at the tax payer expense. Hold your kids close, happy holidays
Thank you s. Lake Tahoe police!
Tip of the iceberg as far as LTUSD goes….Tarwater not aware ?? You the public are not aware of how truly messed up our schools are…Why do you think Tarwater was run out of his previous post??…he’s still a used car salesman!!
I would suspect a child falling asleep on a noisy bus would indicate not having optimal sleep conditions, bedtimes being provided at the home. In riding school busses during my k-12 schooling,cannot recall a single kid ever falling asleep.
I don’t understand how the bus driver, who supposedly checked the bus…..missed this child.
I don’t get it! How can a bus driver miss a child.
Head count on and off and it doesn’t come out even?
What’s wrong with the bus driver?????? I am a grandmother to 5 boys and don’t ever want them lost or ‘misplaced’. Responsibility needs to play into this situation! Those poor parents who didn’t know where their child was for the longest time of their lives!
Tarwater claiming to not have known about the incident AFTER receiving an email from the parent! This is NOTHING new as I’ve been told his emails are screened by someone else so he doesn’t see most, if not all, of the emails directed to him! I’ve attempted contact several times over the years without even the courtesy of a form response! It’s sad to hear that LTUSD has taken no responsibility for their actions! A 5-year-old,while small should not go un-noticed on all 3 “searches” of a school bus!
I agree that if you don’t have children then this is out of your realm. If you don’t think losing your child is “no big deal” then you shouldn’t have children…ever! The dad said he did not want anyone to lose their job. End of that discussion. He also stated his satisfaction with the school system. Stop that hassle. He further made it clear that the police department was exemplary in their response to this possible emergency. So drop that as well.
What should concern everyone is the training of the bus drivers. Perhaps the tapes from the bus cam should be reviewed and determine what could be done to improve the way that the bus drivers clear their buses at the end of their route. Kids can fall asleep at a football game. They just do!
I think it is critical that the bus cam be reviewed to determine what changes might be made. Searching a bus 3 times and not finding an 80 pound child means something should be done to improve this method. Regardless of how this happened the bus driver should have shown concern and apologized to the parents and child.
Where the heck is the superintendent and why hasn’t he responded to this? Do your job mister!
Well, this was a life changer!
So glad it turned out well.
Can’t understand how anyone can make a negative comment about Corben, Jason or Libi with respect to this story. I’ve known Jason and Libi for over 15 years and they are among the most loving, hands-on, doting, involved parents I’ve had the pleasure to know. I can’t even begin to imagine the fear and terror they experienced. So very happy to hear Corben is fine and all is well. It will be a Merry Christmas after all.
Well put Dad. Parents should take responsibility and our school system is very good. Billie You always have interesting items to contribute without a lot of rhetoric.
I shake my head in dispair as I read some of these comments. I know these parents personally, and they are super attentive and responsible. Blaming the victim and his parents and putting forth personal opinions on parenting styles is morally reprehensible! I can’t even imagine what the parents were thinking while their child was missing. It must’ve been one of the worst feelings any parent could ever have. I am so glad the child was found safe. He’s a really nice LITTLE BOY.
Reading Comprehension 101
The bus driver, who is reportedly a veteran at her job – even a trainer, searched the bus three times. No Corben.
“He was fine, he was scared. He woke up in the dark in a scary place,” Fenley said of her son.
Fenley said, “If the driver is not going to be accountable, what procedures are going to be put in place other than flashlights will be used for looking for items (and people) on the bus?”
Conclusion: Bus was searched in the dark in the garage. That’s how the lil guy was missed. New procedure in place; flashlights will be used to search bus in the future if needed. One more item driver “assumed” child had gotten off at wrong place after search revealed nothing. Not a bad assumption but so glad the police came to the bus barn first before heading to whatever neighborhood he was assumed to be wandering.
I know the feeling of a lost child, I’ve been there twice, it’s the worst feeling ever. I wouldn’t wish it on my enemy.
Merry Christmas!
Dad, well put. Its nice that you see the big picture and realise that mistakes are made and hopefully those involved all learned a big lesson. Happy holidays!
If you do not currently have a child attending school currently you need to back out of the conversation…..the school district is a mess and if you are currently involved in any type of activities in this school district you know there is a ton of problems….they sweep everything they can under the rug and I could write a book about how unsafe things have been in current situations….you all just wait it will all come to light after the smoke has cleared and the lawsuits have been settled and certain people are dethroned…. Meanwhile do not trust th school district to have our children’s best interests at heart….yes there may be the few you can trust, however it’s only a matter of time….keep an eye on your kids and by all means be involved and speak up no matter how much the school district ignores you and tries to rug sweep all the problems!
I am very sorry to hear what happened to this little guy and his family. I’m sure the driver feels awful as well and I’m guessing the District Transportation Dept will change/tweak their policies after this to make everything safer for all the children, which, Dad stated above, is his reason for going to the paper. The drivers need to take a flashlight and walk (not just look for heads from the front of the bus) to the back of the bus looking down to the floor at the end of each run. Not only children could be left behind, but items from older students that may pose a risk to younger students. As an aside, I really can’t listen to negative talk about Dr. Tarwater. Those that have been in town longer than he, are aware of what things were like before him. He is a doer and has made so many improvements to our schools and he cares deeply for the students of LTUSD. I have 3 adult children that have been through the school system in SLT. As well, I must say – I’ve never seen so many rude, uninformed and downright mean comments as I see coming from this online news publication. Every story turns into these petty battles between readers and ends up veering so far from the story that I forget what the original article was even about. Save that for gossiping in the aisles at Raley’s. It’s immature and not constructive and makes this town look like it’s filled with a bunch of lunatics. Peace and love.
whadya mean t chick? we as property owners pay for schools, giving us a voice in the conversation, even as some of us choose not to contribute to human overpopulation.