COWETA COUNTY, Ga. -- A Coweta County parent provided 11Alive News with exclusive video she says show dangerously overcrowded conditions on her children's school bus.
"I think there could be much more seriously injuries to children on an overcrowded bus," Rachel Barton said.
Barton said her children had been complaining about problems with overcrowding for several months and were routinely instructed to sit for to a seat or on the ground in the center aisle of the bus.
"If we were to get into a wreck, most of the kids would probably fall on top of each other," 13-year-old Alyssa Barton said.
A spokesperson for Coweta County schools says they were unaware of concerns about overcrowding until they were contacted by 11Alive News. The school system has launched an investigation into the concerns.
A school spokesperson says there are clear safety guidelines. First, the seats are designed to safely hold three or fewer students. The spokesperson says the buses are never to exceed a maximum of 66 students. It's not clear exactly how many students are on the bus shown in the video.
UPDATE: On Monday, Dean Jackson, Coweta County School System's public information officer, issued a response, which stated:
The bus in question is Coweta County school bus #4306, serving neighborhoods in the Madras Middle School district.
This concern was brought to us by reporter Devin Fehely on late Friday afternoon, following his contact by a parent. Our school system has investigated this matter throughout this weekend and today, interviewing the bus driver, Madras Middle School administrators, and several students who ride on the bus, and by reaching out to the parent who had a concern about her child's school bus.
On Friday afternoon (May 2), this school bus was helping transport students from another route due to a bus driver absence, and was transporting some additional students who don't normally ride the bus because of parent notes allowing their children to ride home with friends on the bus route.
The bus was at or near capacity, although our investigation has not indicated that the school bus was over capacity.
As I discussed with Mr. Fehely last Friday evening, standard-size buses are designed to a capacity of no more than three (3) students to a seat. This allows a maximum capacity of 66 students, and our safety procedures in Coweta County prohibit sitting or standing in bus aisles. As I indicated to the reporter on Friday, if a school bus meets capacity in its seating, as described above, that bus route is then split, with the bus taking one load of student on their route and then returning to pick up other students. Alternately, students may be assigned to ride on another school bus that is under-capacity.
When interviewed today about afternoon routes on May 5, the driver of the bus in question indicated that she believed there were sufficient seats for all students on the afternoon route. During the driving of the route, she observed one (1) student sitting in the bus aisle near the rear of the bus, and asked the student to take a seat. The student did so, taking a seat with two other students.
The video sent to us by your reporter on Friday and shown on the newscast is of a quality that makes it difficult to discern what is occurring, but it appears to me to show one instance of three students seated in a bus seat, and a fourth student seated on the lap of one of those students. I do not know the circumstances of that situation, and the video provides very little context to allow for a conclusion. However, if four students sat for any length of time on the bus on one bus seat while the bus was in motion, then the driver of the bus did not observe and correct that situation, as she has indicated that she normally does.
On Friday, the reporter that I spoke to indicated a possibility that the driver has instructed students in the past to sit or stand in the aisle, or to sit four to a seat. The driver indicated that she has not done so at any time. She indicated that she strongly prohibits students to sit or stand in bus aisles, and always instructs students to be seated in the bus at no more than 3 students per seat.
Several students who ride on this bus were also interviewed as a part of this investigation, including the student featured in the WXIA report above. Some students indicated to us that they observed sufficient seats on the bus for all students on Friday (meaning there were seats with fewer than 3 students). Some students indicated that they did not know if there were sufficient seats on Friday. Some indicated that they did not believe that there were additional seats on the bus (meaning all seats held 3 students during the afternoon route).
Additionally, several of the students interviewed indicated that the driver of the bus is adamant in enforcing bus safety rules, and does not allow students to stand or sit in the aisles, sit with more than 3 students to a seat or otherwise behave in an unsafe manner on the school bus.
We also observed the bus in question today to determine how many students are on the afternoon route. There were 47 students on bus #4306's afternoon route on Monday (May 5).
Though our school system has not found evidence that the school bus featured in your report was overcrowded, our school system takes concerns about student safety very seriously at all times. We have reiterated to school administrators and to drivers today to review all buses to ensure that they do not exceed capacity and that they meet safety requirements before they leave campus.
Additionally, the standards and procedures in place for Coweta County school buses are in the best interests of student safety. We believe these standards are being adhered to in our school system. If any parent or student has a concern about bus safety, we strongly urge them to contact our school system transportation office or their school principal.
