most school bus driver's in other towns assign seats for the kids,. the younger ones sit in the front and older ones in the back. With every marking period changing partners so each child has a chance to meet the kids on the bus.

I know FOR A FACT that last year, in first grade, Adrian was to sit alone on the bus as per his parent's request because of the allergy.

WHY is a seven year old even arguing with a bus driver, yes it is his bus and his rules. Sounds like a rather disrespectful child to me.

I really feel sorry for this child. His parents just sealed his fate with friends. this past 3 days of press on them. Parents of kids his age are going to make sure their children don't play with him.Out of fear.of what may happen. Mr.and Mrs.Hayden please think of you son before you keep putting his picture all over the place. You may think this is good for him to get this out there.But it is only hurting him.

who dresses this kid, OMG!!!

The school bus should be a privilege, not a right. If you don't follow the rules, you don't get to ride the bus. The school board will rule in the student's favor to shut the parents up. The driver isn't union and he's not a township employee. DeHart has to make WD happy... The lesson learned by young Adrian: It's ok for me to argue with adults because if I get in trouble, my parents will complain and bail me out.

Just askin..How does one "sit alone, pressed against the window"?
If it was me, I'd just scooch over a bit.

you guys are all thick headed. im a former WD student and i've had the absolute worst bus drivers. the bus company knows this as well because she has been brought into meetings numerous times for problems. and no, the bus isnt a privilege, it is a right. and since the 7 year old cant drive himself he should atleast be shown some respect by someone who's job it is to make sure he gets to school/home safely. this whole thing could have been avoided if the driver would have been mature in tellin the child his parents wanted him alone, but by saying "my bus my rules" the driver proved how unprofessional he/she is. this really hits a nerve cause i know exactly what happens on these busses and its not good.

Realdudewd, you have no CLUE whats going on. Not EVERY BUS DRIVER IS BAD.
Because of the bullying law, kids can say whatever they want and others lose THEIR JOBS BECAUSE OF THEM. HE HAS NOTHING BETTER TO DO THAN TO GET OTHERS IN TROUBLE BECAUSE HE'S FREAKING PARANOID. So get your facts straight, because i used to hang out with the drivers when i was in school,
and they were not rude or "immature" at all. Besides, how do you know what the bus driver said/did? Youre being immature by believing a kid over another ADULT

I too have had trouble with West Deptford bus drivers. They dropped my son on the late bus a mile from where he needed to be and basically told him to either get out or he would be taken back to the school. In world of nut jobs and with it benig in the news about child abductopn, I have a MAJOR problem with that. It has nothing to do with this poor child being disrespectful - these drivers talk to the kids like their trash.

OK. Let's take a breather here, all. 'Trolling' does not become any of you as I have found most WD residents to be decent people. This child, nor his parents are 'bad' people, nut jobs or crazies, and although it's frustrating to deal with those who repeatedly cannot see things as they really are and have their perspective skewed, some of the comments here are not very nice, and telling the family to “get out of Dodge” is a bit harsh. If I was Adrian’s mother reading that, I’d be very hurt and scarred by that comment. I understand the frustration, but let’s not be so cruel. The debate here is good so that every side can be seen and heard, and some can be enlightened. It's tough to see someone else's point of view sometimes. But we shouldn't cowardly throw stones on a local blog.

you are right, i'm sorry, but they are very frustrating with all the stuff they've pulled.

not only school bus drivers rude but they can't drive.They pull out in front of you,speed through residential areas.I'm driving a big yellow whale get out of my way.
I think the township should change bus companies aand send dehart packing to another district.Or better yet screen who they hire.

What everyone should see here is not a story about a boy and what is wrong or right, but rather one man/family trying to do what is right to make sure no other family has to go through this. I know not every child has an allergey but that does not mean they can't be bullied. To many times we see in the news about a teens who was bullied growing up and decides to end their life. It's up to us as adults to do whats right and put an end to adults bullying kids.

Martin Luther King Jr said it best,
“Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.”
Lets not turn our backs on the true issue here, "BULLYING"
Lets stop throwing jabs at this family for trying to do whats right and instead throw the jabs in the direction of bullying and put an end to it.

Does anyone know what a bus friver gets paid????

The driver said, “My bus, my rules,” before getting in an argument with 7-year-old .... Please tell me WHAT IS THE FIRST INDICATION THAT THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THIS STORY? My guess is "before arguing with a 7 year old". Why would a 7 year old be arguing with an adult? "My bus, My rules" What, may I ask, is wrong with this statement and how does it constitute bullying? Answer: NOTHING and IT DON'T! This very article and the father involved are the sole cause of what is wrong with this country. This father is under the assumption that his 7 year old son has every right to tell an adult what he or she can or can't do. And why does he feel that way? Because he (the father) feels he is entitled to also. He ,the bully, created a bully. It started over an epipen then the media turned DAD into a fame crazed idiot who paraded his son's picture all over the tv for all to see. What did the school, the Administration, school board and the bus company do? They folded, like they always do to keep the parent appeased and who will take the fall because surely SOMEONE has to pay? The lowly bus driver (who agreed to take the course to be certified)..And what is wrong with that? EVERYTHING! I am so disgusted with the lot of you! It sickens me to know that I will, at some point in my life, have to deal with the out of control, disrespectful, self indulgent, lazy, stupid jackasses you are all breeding. Pride in your community? I think not! Spay and neuter I think YES!

Personally I don't care what allergy or affliction the child has. Obviously the child was arguing with an adult,who teaches their child it's ok to argue with an adult? This only shows total disrespect to the bus driver. To get respect you must first give it. In our "civilized society" we have rules everyone must follow.This includes the school bus. So yes the drivers have rules to which all students must adhere. If one child gets out of line the rest follow suit, now you have lost control of your bus and have nothing but chaos. As I read it Adrian was on the "late bus" for only a few weeks. When he tried to "test" the driver he didn't have his way. When things don't go Adrian's way the father steps in with senseless,..overblown complaints. How many of us heard our parents say to us rough housing in the back seat of the car,.."Knock it off your gonna cause an accident"?

Hey, I remember when we walked to school......ahhh, the good old days. And you think this is bad, hang out at a baseball game. There are 40 parents in the stands and they all think their son that is batting .250 is getting screwed and it is going to mess up his chances of that pro contract because the coach doesn't play him. WD parents are a serious, serious joke. Get a clue people. Be parents, not friends. Friends come later when your well developed child can survive on their own in this tough tough world

I believe this whole thing began over having that "gruff and unprofessional" bus driver trained to use the epipen to sain poor Aiden'S life. Fact is she agreed to do it. The bus company refused and with good reason. What you all don't realize is if she administers that medicine n the boy dies guess who the parents sue? The driver and company so no matter what they do they are the bad guy. Sorry mr Hayden but you aren't worth that risk!

Hey for the small amount people who side WITH The Haydens, WAKE UP!!!
If the Adrian had an allergy that threatens his life, why on earth would someone put him on a bus??? Here's an idea: TAKE HIM YOURSELF MR.HAYDEN, WE ALL HAVE LIVES TOO. You THINK you're above the rest of "everyday people" just because you're friends with BOE. You really have problems to sort out if you have nothing else better to do than looking for reasons to show your sons' "through one ear, out the other" problem. Did you at all ask the bus driver about what happened? If so, why would you believe a 7 year old child over an adult? Did your child say this because he didnt like the bus driver? If so, isn't THAT bullying and/or harassment according to that Law that noone mentioned yet...the bullying law, which does little to NOTHING?
The reports of intimidation/bullying have shot up 20% since 2010-2011, do you know why? Because people take advantage of it

I agree. Why doesn't Mr. Hayden take him if there are so many issues with allergies, especially since he is a stay at home dad!

back in the day,my mom used to meet the bus driver in the beginning of the year. If i got out of line, or i was with friends that got out of line, i was guilty. guilty by association or guilty until prove innocent! it kept me in line! (most of the time). bus drivers were tough, and they need to be. they are responsible for the safety of your kids. i would not want to be responsible for kids today. parents are too quick to say not my kid.......my little angel. i see them today, where i work....skateboarding down step. you ask them to leave and they argue and curse at you. guaranteed, if they get hurt, their parents will be real quick to sue the company.

I have been a bus driver for 15 years with Deharts,we carry a lot of responsibility so many problems occur on the road that we can't control, but we try to control what happens inside the bus the best we can understand we all aren't gruff, mean we do the best we can . I feel every since bullying law people jump too quickly to use it without all the facts let's see what we find out and judge driver's individually instead of grouping us all up because thats just not fair at all

For all of you that never drove a School Bus kept quite until you know the facts. Just take one week and get into the driver seat, at the end of the week you would turn to that driver and say I don;t know how you can do this for a living. The things we see as a Bus driver. I drove for 19 years and till this day I love driving. Sometimes the children that have problems sitting, eating, smoking, High School students that try to have sex in the back and think were not able to see talking back to use and saying your not my Mom and you can't tell us what to do, that f---- you comes out of there mouths and we have to keep driving and report them the next day. We have to put those children to the front so we can keep and eye on them. How many times these kids get on the Bus with weapons and don't even know it and were putting our lives on the line because they dont know how to act. Just look at how they drive out of the Schools when school lets out. So all you non-drivers dont put the driver down until you know the hole truth about a Bus Drivers Job. We do the best that we can do and it doesnt help when the schools dont help out.

Thanks danna your 100% correct I love my job too and the kids I drive are why I like my job, whenever anything goes wrong its always our fault....

Lorretta,
It's only the bus driver's fault WHEN they're @ fault. Not every bus driver is the bad guy. Also not all children are the bad guys either. Especially this seven yrd old. There has been many problems/issues w/ drivers & also with students over the years. However ppl just can't lump every story together & blame all children or all drivers. Just place blame where need be. In this particular story, the bus driver was wrong. End of story. The bus driver was wrong the SECOND he/she began to argue w/ a child & began to bully that little boy. I don't care what that little boy said or did on that bus. That's a different story all together. We're not talking about what the boy, & what he may or may have not done. He's seven yrs old. The bus driver however isn't seven. He/she needs to be the grown-up as well as act like one. Plus every situation is different & every situation must be handled accordingly.
All I want is to see, is the correct person or ppl, to be held accountable & responsible. People just need to take ownership for when they do something wrong. In this story this child did nothing wrong. This child was being bullied by not just the kids on that bus. He was also being bullied by that driver.

This has NOTHING <sarcasm> to do with the father trying to get on the BoE last year and failing.

"There are no devil’s advocates serving on the board today, and I would fill that role quite nicely." ~ John Hayden http://westdeptford.patch.com/articles/school-board-profiles-john-hayden

I find it curious that the bullying started "after getting involved in a couple of after-school clubs at Oakview in early April" and that the "process began just before spring break, and by the time school resumed" the situation was handled, to the father's liking.

Just look at the WD schools schedule. Spring Break was from April 6 - April 13.

That means this took place in a span of 3 days (April 5 would have been after school hours and too late to report it).

Sounds like the father still wants to be the antagonist for the Board and is using his son to do it. Was The Patch "tipped" just like Fox was a few days before about the EpiPen issue?

Kudos goes to the Board for handling the situation quickly and efficiently.

And to realdudewd:

Bus transportation to and from school/school activities is a SERVICE provided by the district at a cost to the tax payers. It is NOT a right. If a person does not like the service that is being offered, they may chose to not use it.

TimeWaster12,
This is ALL about what that bus driver did(didn't do) on his/her bus those couple of days. He/she clearly did some wrong doing, b/c he/she was removed from that bus route. Why would anyone especially the bus driver be moved, if he/she didn't do anything wrong or wasn't gulity of the accusations towards them?
Also w/ the problems that I have had personally this year, I would rather drive my children to & from school. However I was told by Mr. Kitchenman himself on more than one occasion to NOT do that. "It wouldn't be in the best interest of all the schools & for you & your family, to not do that". That's what he said to me.
TBH w/ you, it would in the best interest of myself & other families, if we DID take our children to school. The "service" that's in place has now, is much to be desired & needs a GREAT deal work to fix the many problems/issues they do have. It would take the stress & worry off of parents. Plus our children would get to & from school on time.

Kristi, removing a person who is under review for an incident is common practice in all sorts of fields. The article does not say if they were fired, reassigned or suspended. People get up in arms all the time when they hear that a police officer or teacher is suspended with pay until the dust has settled.

I'm not saying the driver's actions were right, I just believe that there is more on Mr. Hayden's agenda then these incidents.

Either my wife or I take our kids to school and pick them up everyday. To me it's a little special time I get to spend with them that they have no idea means so much. If you can, I'd recommend doing it. You'll enjoy it.

TimeWaster12,
I just think this bus driver was removed for other reasons. Not just b/c they're investigating this. I could be wrong & I hope I am. Because then this bus driver, didn't do anything wrong. For his/her sake I hope he/she didn't do any wrong doing. I guess will find out soon enough what happened in this case. Also I believe Mr. Hayden's agenda, would be just like any other parent's. That would be to get to the bottom of this incident. People have to take ownership in what took place on that bus. Also the agenda would be to hold the correct person &/or ppl responsible for what happened to his child.
I think it's great that you take your kids to school everyday. However parents in the school district, shouldn't have to feel as thought they need to. Parents shouldn't have to take their children to school. Especially when there's a service provided for us. That we pay to have. If you or other ppl choose to do that, then that's your choice. Parents however shouldn't have to feel like that's their only alternative. B/c the service being provided isn't working & it's not worth the children using the buses.
All they have to do & fix the problems that are there. Instead year after year, it's just the same old thing. Too many ppl are passing the buck & sweeping the many problems they have under their rugs. It's been this way, even since I was a child growing up here. Things for them just have gotten worse over the years. Not any better.

"Can I change seats?", "No, you have to sit in that seat and you can't have anyone sit with you." "Please?" "We have to stay with the seating chart." I'll work on it" "But Billy Bob is my best friend! Why not?" "My bus, my rules"...Really, no arguement, more of a discussion there, right?
Then you have a teacher or multiple teachers or other drivers, "Why can't he sit with his friends?" Response, "He's the kid with the allergies"...This has been splashed all over the news, talked about by parents, discussed with children, for the simple fact that they need to be aware not to expose the child to certain things, and it turns into other kids sayong, "Oh, that's the allergy kid!" So when the driver says, he is the child with the allergies, he has become sensetive to the subject, even if the majority of other kids DON'T say anything, and the boy just hears ANOTHER person referring to him as the "allergy kid". Innocent enough, no actual wrong doing on any part. but, really, before making your child the center of attention like this, STOP and THINK what kind of impact it will have on them with others.
I DO drive a bus and have for 12 years. I like to think I do a good job, but I can also tell you that after having kids walking around the bus, arguing with each other, a service radio that I have to keep basted, throwing things out the window, when a kid starts nagging me, I can say, I HAVE said, my bus, my rules. That is saying I'm not arguing with you! not ME ARGUING WITH YOU!

Carrie,
You may be a good driver. That isn't what this is about. This isn't about you & how do your job. This is about another bus driver who should've done their job better.
This child did NOTHING wrong. I can believe ppl are blamimg this 7 yr old. It's ridiculous & crazy! Whatever he did on that bus, his behavior did NOT warrant the reaction he was given by the adult on that bus.
Plus his parents did nothing wrong either. They did what any other parent would've done. Including you. They protected their son from bullies. Remember a bully comes in many forms. Including the one who was driving that bus.
As already stated pick up & defend the good drivers. They are many good drivers. However don't defend the bad drivers. If he/she was wrong then they were wrong. Like in this story. If he/she handled this little boy's situation w/ more decretion & did do his/her job better, there would no story.

Bryan,
That makes it worse knowing that there was another "adult" on that bus. Still this should've never have happened no matter who was on that bus. TBH I don't care how many adults were on that bus. Whomever was on that bus, they didn't handle that little boy's situation or themselves in the correct manner. If they did handle things correctly, this story wouldn't be one.
Why would any parent goes to this length? It's too make ppl take ownership for their part of this whole mess. No one is going to tell me that the bus driver & that aide, were totally blameless for what took place on that bus over that period of time. If ppl believe otherwise, then they're fooling no one except for themselves.
It's sad too b/c this situation will be treated just like the many others from this school year. This issue will be addressed. However it'll never will be dealt with the way it should be. The wrongs will still be wrong & problems will never be fixed.
Another school year gone by with SO many problems being brushed under the rug & many fingers pointed @ each other.