The Great Falls Public School District said its school bus contractor terminated an aide in response to a video posted to Facebook that showed the adult engaged in a profanity-laced tirade and shoving match with students, KRTV.com reports.
A female student is shown trying to act as a peacemaker on the bus between the employee, who is wearing a reflective safety vest, and what appears to be a teenage boy.
In a joint statement, the school district and Big Sky Bus Lines said the incident began on Monday afternoon at a local high school, when the bus aide, who was in another bus at the time, witnessed students hanging their legs, arms, hands and heads out of bus windows. The employee boarded the bus to stop the behavior, when “… inflammatory verbal exchanges occurred. The situation escalated quickly. One student shoved the aide and the aide physically retaliated.”
The district and contractor aided police in an investigation. The aide was suspended and was later fired, Big Sky Bus Lines added.
“Big Sky Bus Lines expects their staff members to diffuse conflict, but this did … occur,” the company said. “As a result, the bus aide is no longer employed by Big Sky Bus Lines. In protecting the privacy of minors, we will not comment on if or whether any action has been taken with the students.”
