Students were “alarmed” after a school bus, which was not their normal bus, tried to pick them up in Cary Thursday morning, prompting a police response that confirmed the driver was a transportation employee.
A parent of a Cary-Grove High School student posted on social media Thursday warning other parents about a possible luring attempt involving his child.
The father said his daughter was waiting for her school bus on Thursday morning when a short bus pulled up to her and said, “Your normal bus is running very late. Would you like a ride?”
The girl did not get on the bus and notified her parents. Her mother called the transportation office and they said they had received two other reports of the same occurrence.
The father said the girl’s bus was not late at all and she got on her normal bus. “This is VERY concerning,” he said, adding that it happened at the Lyons Ridge subdivision entrance on Three Oaks Road.
Dr. Neil Lesinski, the Superintendent for Community High School District 155, which includes Cary-Grove High School, sent a letter to parents regarding the incident.
He said a driver for the Transportation Joint Agreement (TJA), a shared bus service for school Districts 47 and 155, was operating a marked school bus and was en route on his daily special education route around 6:50 a.m.
“Typically, the driver passes the regular education bus at the same intersection daily, but the TJA driver noticed the regular education bus was not in sight,” Lesinski said.
The bus driver noticed students waiting in the cold temperatures and stopped at the regular education bus stop with “good intentions” to ask them if they wanted a ride.
“The students did the right thing and, out of an abundance of caution, declined to get on the bus and waited for the regular education bus to arrive,” Lesinski said.
The students were alarmed by the interaction and contacted their parents, who called the Cary Police Department.
The regular education bus arrived a few minutes later after the interaction.
“We certainly understand how this raises concerns in our community, and our students and parents did the right thing to contact our Transportation Department,” Lesinski said.
The superintendent said the TJA driver has been “spoken to” about following proper protocols to ensure that dispatch is contacted before stopping to speak with students for a ride.
“This is a good reminder for our students, parents, and community members that our TJA drivers are required to wear vests and have identification while driving our school buses. D47/D155 school buses are clearly marked and belong to District 47 and D155,” Lesinski said.
District 26 students were not involved in the incident. “We appreciate the collaboration with District 26 and the Cary Police Department in investigating this matter,” he added.