School bus aide fired for berating and threatening student on video: 'I'll put your head through that f***ing window'
A school bus aide in Linden, N.J., who launched into a profane tirade against a 10-year-old student, at one point becoming physical and threatening him, has been terminated.
An elementary school student recorded the woman Monday aggressively confronting a classmate and arguing with him about his behavior and home life as the bus was dropping off children from Linden Public School No. 2.
“You must act like that to your parents,” the unidentified 58-year-old worker says. “I bet they beat your [expletive] every night. I know your father does.”
She’s also heard daring the boy to misbehave in order to punish him, saying, “Get up and do it. You got one time. And you know what’s gonna happen to you, right?”
The original, uncensored video appears to have been removed from YouTube, but an edited version was published by News 12 New Jersey and can be seen here. In it, the aide’s fury escalates when she says, “Say it again. Call me [censored] again. Say it again. How dare you? … I’ll put your f***ing head through that window.”
Police Lt. Christopher Guenther told Yahoo Lifestyle that a brief, off-camera physical altercation took place as well, according to NBC 4 New York. Witnesses report that the student also used profanity while arguing back, though it’s unclear what provoked the incident.
Linden Schools Superintendent Danny Robertozzi confirmed that the aide was fired immediately after the event came to his attention, and he released a statement to Yahoo Lifestyle denouncing her conduct.
“Parents should be able to feel secure in knowing that their children are protected from the time they leave for school until the time they arrive home,” Robertozzi’s statement read. “As a parent and educator, I am appalled at the way our student was treated. This behavior will not be tolerated.”
Though the school dismissed the aide, she was not actually an employee, according to district spokesperson Gary Miller. She had been hired through Dapper, a bus company contracted by Linden Public Schools, which requires aide applicants to submit to background checks, according to Dapper’s site.
“We take great care in providing a safe and nurturing environment for our students at all times they are in our care,” Robertozzi said. “The behavior shown in a cellphone video by an employee of a contracted bus company does not reflect the values that the Linden Public Schools faculty and staff embody on a daily basis.”
The parents of the student involved have filed a police report, according to News 12 New Jersey, and the name of the aide is being kept confidential as the Linden Police Juvenile Aid Bureau investigates the incident, Guenther said.
In the meantime, Robertozzi said he met with the parents and the child and has “offered any assistance we can in helping the family get through this difficult and traumatic incident,” he told Yahoo Lifestyle.
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