CHANNELVIEW, Texas – Parents are upset about how a local school district handled what they call a violent threat against students.
A family reached out to KPRC 2 after they say Channelview Independent School District didn’t do enough to protect kids.
“If there are children in danger, man, you stop everything you’re doing,” said Chris Rodriquez, a parent.
Thursday morning’s school bus ride to Alice Johnson Junior High is a trip the Rodriquez family won’t forget.
“Usually, the bus driver is in a good mood, always saying hello. I noticed today something was wrong, you could tell on her face real serious,” said Rocio Rodriquez.
The Rodriquez family says, after their daughter boarded Bus 70 around 8:30 in the morning, the driver started acting even stranger.
They got a text message from their daughter around 8:45 a.m. telling them the driver had threatened the students and referenced the mass shootings that devastated families across the country.
“She said that ‘The people who caused the shooting are broken to the core,’ and she said, ‘Y’all don’t want to see me broken to the core,’” said their daughter. “And that these children were going to have pain come their way, and she was going to make their lives miserable.”
According to the family, the driver was upset about how the kids on the bus had behaved the day before with a substitute driver.
“But that’s still not the right way to handle a situation, you don’t say those types of things to kids,” said Rocio.
Channelview ISD sent the following response to KPRC 2:
“This morning, Channelview ISD administrators were made aware of a verbal altercation between a bus driver and Alice Johnson Junior High students. The bus driver was immediately removed and is no longer employed with the district. Please know we take these situations very seriously, as the safety of our students is always top priority. Our campuses, facilities and school buses should always be a safe place for students and we will work to ensure it stays that way.”
But the Rodriquez family says that response is not enough.
“I feel like they took too long to react,” said Rocio.
The family says as soon as they were made aware of the situation, they and other parents called the district’s administrative office, but they couldn’t get answers, so they drove to the building.
“We arrived, it was 9:15-9:10, and they still had no idea what was going on even though the students had already reported it to the assistant principal,” said Rocio.
The family is grateful that no one was hurt, but they hope Channelview ISD learns from this situation.
“When you make a threat like that… heads should know, everybody should be made aware,” said Rocio.
The Rodriquez family say they’ve requested a copy of the school bus footage from the district. Depending on what they see, they say they may press charges.