BERNE — A six-year-old child, accidentally dropped off two miles from her home, was given a lift by a passing motorist.

Tara Clickman said she and her husband were angry after her daughter was brought home by Ted Elberts of Reidsville last Tuesday, not a Berne-Knox-Westerlo bus driver.

Clickman’s daughter, Shelby Clickman, a first-grader at BKW, was picked up by Elberts on Cass Hill Road, after Curtis Ingraham, a BKW school bus driver, dropped her off at the incorrect address.
"I can’t describe how angry I was," Clickman told The Enterprise.
Shelby, Clickman said, was very upset and had stomach cramps, but, since last Tuesday’s incident, has been attending school, and is OK. "It could have been much worse," Clickman said.

Superintendent Steven Schrade wrote an Oct. 18 letter that went out to the parents of BKW students, informing them of the incident. He said this week that the school will be reviewing its procedures.

On Tuesdays, Clickman said, her daughter stays for the after-school program to receive extra help. She rides the 3:30 p.m. bus home on that day. The other four days of the school week, she rides the regular 2:30 p.m. route.
"She loves her regular bus driver," she said.

The school assigns its drivers on a rotating basis for the late route, and the kids are never the same, said Alan Zuk, the school’s director of transportation.

Scrade said that students staying after school, who ride the late bus, bring slips with their address, and a copy of the slip is given to teachers’ aides, who give the slips to the drivers.

Clickman is letting her daughter decide whether or not she wants to continue staying after school on Tuesday.
"She might have to talk to a counselor," Clickman said. She added, "We don’t want to penalize her. We want to make sure that she gets the extra help she needs and arrives home safely."

Ingraham, since last Tuesday’s incident, has been on paid leave. He did not return a call from The Enterprise.
"At first," Clickman said, "I wanted the driver fired."

On Friday, Clickman told The Enterprise Ingraham should be suspended with pay, and eventually come back to work. She added, "I think some policies need to be changed."

She had looked at the videotape from the security camera in the bus earlier in the day, and reported that Ingraham did not look at the slip with the Clickman’s address given to him by one of the teacher’s aides.

Schrade told The Enterprise that, since last Tuesday, he’s received some phone calls and an e-mail.
"One father," he said, "has a daughter who rides the bus and doesn’t want the driver to lose his job. One mother," he said, "was concerned, wondering what the school was doing in response, because her child rides that bus."
Schrade said that the e-mail he received was from a mother, which described Ingraham as "dedicated," a "good guy," and said he wouldn’t deliberately do anything to put a child in harm’s way.
"There have been similar incidents in the past of children dropped off at the incorrect address, but they have occurred separately and with space between them," Schrade said. "But I don’t think there’s been a case regarding a child this young."
He said that, given the enormity of the task of making thousands of pick-ups and drop-offs, there’s going to be a mistake. He added, "We don’t expect to make mistakes, but the odds are, there’s going to be one at some point."

Schrade also said that the school understands the seriousness of its role in providing safety to children.