He continues to drive his bus route for the district, transporting pupils to Jackson-Penn Elementary as well as older students to the Selinsgrove Area High School.
The driver, who in a telephone interview identified himself only as Bob, said his close friends also call him “Trish.”
He said he is a transsexual.
“I don’t understand what all the fuss is about,” he said. “I am diagnosed with gender identity disorder syndrome, and I am being treated.
“I pose no threat to anyone; I’m just trying to do my job,” he said late yesterday afternoon.
The man would not release his full name, nor would the school board or Amity Leasing C.S., the district’s independent bus contractor that employs him.
He continues to drive his bus route for the district, transporting pupils to Jackson-Penn Elementary as well as older students to the Selinsgrove Area High School.
Connie Lahr, co-owner of Amity Leasing, and Superintendent William Regester said cross-dressing is not grounds for dismissal.
“This is America. The man has the right to dress how he wants,” Regester said.
Parents in the district are irate.
At Tuesday’s school board meeting, they accused the driver, among other things, of being an unfit role model and a potential danger for their children.
Pam Miller, a parent attending the meeting, said the driver is a “big concern” to her and her three children.
“I am concerned about the safety of my children and I think that the driver is a poor role model for my children,” Miller said.
Miller said she has four chief concerns.
She alleged that he hit a snow plow last year and that her teenage son said the driver speeds in excess of posted 40 mph speed zones. He also allegedly once stopped at a produce stand while driving his route, according to Miller.
Miller’s final comment was he allegedly used foul language while children were on the bus.
“I do not care what his sexual orientation is,” Miller said, “I am concerned about the safety of our children.”
Both Regester and Lahr acknowledged parents’ complaints but said they will not further pursue the issue until accusations about the driver’s conduct are proven.
“At this point, the man’s driving record is clean,” Regester said Wednesday. “Until stories are substantiated, we cannot suspend him. There is no cause for disciplinary action.”
Bob the bus driver responded to parents’ allegations by saying, “The only thing shameful about being a transsexual is how people treat us.”
Lahr said the people speaking against the driver were discriminating against him.
“Parents are upset, but he doesn’t say or do anything to harm their children,” Lahr said. “All the rumors regarding his conduct are unsubstantiated.
“This is discrimination,” she said.
“The issue at hand is whether he is a safe driver,” Lahr said. “The answer is yes, he is.
“What bothers me the most is that all of this came up since he started dressing as a woman,” she said.
“We cannot dredge up past problems with the driver” in response to how he conducts himself this year, Regester said at Tuesday’s meeting.
Miller said the board should look at the driver’s ability first, and she felt that the driver was unsafe and unstable.
Lahr said the driver is not unstable. Rather, he is a good driver who is doing nothing wrong.
Ed Clark Jr. of Hummels Wharf said his stepson no longer rides the bus.
“He chooses not to subject himself to the driver because he feels uncomfortable,” Clark said. “I will continue to drive him to school ... until something is done about him.”
Jeanne Clark, Ed’s mother, said the whole scenario is “outrageous.”
Her youngest son, Austin, thought the cross-dressing was a joke at first, according to Mrs. Clark, but then he became horrified when he realized it wasn’t.
“This is pathetic,” Mrs. Clark said, “my children won’t ride that bus.”
Regester said the board could not do anything to reprimand the driver until there is sufficient reason to do so.
Even if that happens, according to Regester, the board must file a complaint with the contractor, who will then deal with the problem.
“Dismissing someone for how they dress or what they look like is discrimination,” Lahr said. “We will not do that.”
Putting the children’s safety in danger, according to Lahr, is grounds for dismissal.
“But nine times out of ten, this driver is the safest on the road,” Lahr said. “His safety is not being questioned here. His preferences are.”
“Until something is substantiated, he will continue to drive a bus in the district,” Regester said.