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Fired Bus Driver Speaks Out

651 views · Published 11 December 2012 · 2:22 · Indexed 24 October 2026

Channel: WTVC NewsChannel 9 · 2012 · News & Politics

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by John Madewell  A Rhea County school bus driver has been charged with assault and lost his job after an incident with a student last week. It happened on the ride home from school Wednesday afternoon.     51-year-old Ben Stone admits to violating school policy but denies the assault charge. Stone had only been driving for Rhea County Schools since August. Director of Schools Jerry Levengood said the system had had no problems with him before this incident.On Wednesday, deputies received a call to go to Oak Hill Estates Road on a delayed assault call. The girl involved in this on-the-bus incident is an 11-year-old student at Rhea Central.The offense report indicates the officer spoke with several of the students riding the bus and that Stone "did assault" the girl. The report doesn't elaborate with many details, but Stone did from his home. "I was having disciplinary problems with a student and we have the right to assign them seats. And  I was moving her to another seat. She kept telling me 'No, No' she wasn't going to move and she started throwing a tantrum."Stone doesn't deny touching the girl, but feels it was not assault. "I placed my hand on her arm and her shoulder to coax her out of the seat and she just threw herself across the aisle into another seat. Then, I put my hands under her arms to pull her up to get control of the situation, to get my bus rolling again."NewsChannel 9 went to the home of the girl's mother for her side of the story but it appeared no one was home. As of this story, our phone message hasn't been returned.Meanwhile, Levengood said "to the best of his knowledge," the girl wasn't hurt in this incident. He added the reason for Stone's termination was a policy violation. Rhea County's Board of Education policy states, "...a bus driver must report by radio to the transportation supervisor, principal of the school or 911 when a situation occurs needing to remove a student from the bus."Stone didn't do that -- he continued his route and dropped the student off. He concedes he violated policy, but feels he didn't commit a crime. "I do but I don't see where it's assault. I used poor judgment in trying to control the situation. I guess I did break the policy but I was not trained on their policies."Stone said he will not attempt to get his job back as a bus driver. He is most concerned about being suspended from his current job while this criminal matter is pending.

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