A recent audit in Utah found several convicted felons working as school bus drivers as well as people who should not be allowed to drive due to bad driving records.
Ten school bus drivers were found to have motor vehicle violations significant enough to raise concern about them driving children to and from school.
Nine were found to have criminal records which involved violence and five bus drivers were convicted of crimes after they were hired. The criminal records found included child abuse and/or neglect, aggravated assault and negligent manslaughter.
This raises the obvious question, “Why aren’t background checks being conducted on the people entrusted to transport children to and from school?”
School districts in Utah claim to run criminal background checks on potential employees, but no requirement exists for periodic background checks after a person is hired. The audit is recommending an annual motor vehicle check on all school bus drivers.
Kelly Orton, Salt Lake City’s director of support services claimed that performing regular criminal background checks on employees would not be realistic due to being “a logistical and financial nightmare.”
On the positive side, the audit did find that school busing in Utah is the safest way to get kids to school and it is being done effectively.
