School bus driver "removed" from her job for allegedly "playing games on the phone"



OAK CREEK (WITI) -- An Oak Creek school bus driver is "removed" from her job after FOX6 News asks questions. Parents say, the driver may have been playing games on her phone on her way to school -- and that's not all.

When Tony Paladino recently asked his daughter about her day at school, one answer raised a bunch of questions -- not from what happened at school, but on the way to it.

"Told the principal that the bus driver was playing games on the phone while driving them to school," said Paladino.

Paladino says students from Meadowview Elementary School complained their bus driver wasn't exactly 100 percent focused. The concerned dad asked the bus company to check their on-board surveillance cameras.

"So I said, pick a bunch of random dates and watch and you'll see.  And they did. And they saw," said Paladino.

Paladino says the real shock came in their next move.

"They told me they were going to handle it internally. They didn't explain to me what that was going to be," said Paladino. "But imagine my surprise she was pulled off my daughter's route, only to be picking up my two boys and take them to middle school."

8th grader Dante Paladino says his younger brother immediately recognized the driver. They told their shocked dad who called Riteway one more time.

"She thought I wanted her taken off of my daughter's route.  I wanted her taken off of every route.  She should not be driving students," said Paladino.

Paladino says calls to the bus company got no results -- until he reached out to FOX6 News. When FOX6 News called Riteway, a company spokesperson said, "The driver has been removed for not meeting expectations." The company would not say if she has been terminated or simply moved to another route again.

Parents also complained after they say the driver fell asleep -- waiting to let kids off the bus before school. The bus company is not saying if any of the allegations were found to be true -- citing employee privacy.