ALLENDALE, Mich. — An Allendale mom says her kindergartener did not get off the bus at the right stop, sending her into a tearful panic on Thursday.
FOX 17 spoke with the mother and the district on Friday.
Brittany Locmelis says Thursday, after her child's half day, the bus drove right by her at their normal stop without acknowledging her. Her kid had gotten off the bus somewhere different, prompting Locmelis to ask for change.
“My son didn’t get off the bus,” Brittany Locmelis said.
But her son did get off the bus, somewhere, Locmelis says. Just not at the right stop.
Bottom line, it's a huge problem for the mom of three.
Brittany's child, Elliot, is barely six years old. Inititally, the family was excited for him to start riding the bus. This was his first week doing so.
“He’s in kindergarten. It’s kind of a big deal for us. We took pictures and everything,” Locmelis said.
Luckily, Elliot has a bus stop buddy.
“His friend is seven,” Locmelis said.
It was that friend who brought Elliot back home on Thursday.
“He was like, 'I was lost at a different house.' And Alan, which is the seven-year-old who is his friend, he said, ‘Alan brought me home.’ I was like, oh my gosh that’s so sweet,” Locmelis said.
But that didn't prevent the initial feeling when the bus drove by Brittany, with her kid nowhere to be seen.
“I started panicking. Obviously I’m a mom, so the worst-case scenario. I’m like I can’t find my kid. They lost my kid,” Locmelis said.
Brittany says she doesn't want to bash the bus driver, who she believes was a substitute driver. She just wants a better plan in place so this never happens again.
“It’s just baffling that any adult, especially an adult who cares for children, would just let children out anywhere,” Locmelis said. “You don’t just drop them off anywhere.”
Allendale Public Schools issued FOX 17 the following statement:
"Allendale Public Schools deeply regrets that one of our students was let out at the wrong stop yesterday, and while he made it home safely, this action is totally unacceptable. We will work hard as an organization to, first of all, ensure that something like this never happens again. It is incumbent upon us to make sure that every driver, whether they drive a regular route or work as a sub-driver for us, completely understands our expectations and procedures.
"Second of all, we will work hard to regain the trust of this student and his family, so that they can feel safe using our transportation for school."
