MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A school bus driver and an onboard attendant have lost their jobs after leaving a 5-year-old Madison student on the bus alone at the end of their day.
The Wisconsin State Journal reported that Badger Bus contracts with the Madison school district to transport students. The company got a call Wednesday evening from staff at Lake View Elementary School saying parents had reported a missing child. Police found the boy standing outside near the bus company’s facility.
Investigators determined the boy had stayed on the bus after all stops were made. The driver parked the bus for night and left for the night.
The bus company said both driver and the attendant are no longer employed and it will reinforce that drivers and attendants must check their buses at the end of the routes for students through “daily communication.”
School district officials said their contract with Badger Bus is designed to ensure children aren’t left behind and the company didn’t follow its protocols.
“To have a child left alone in this way is something no family or student should have to experience,” the district said in a statement.
