Hudson Valley School District Responds After 5-Year-Old Put On Wrong Bus

The Wallkill Central School District has responded after Hudson Valley Post reported that a five-year-old kindergartener at Ostrander Elementary School was placed on the wrong bus at dismissal, with his mother left waiting at his stop with no warning from the school or the bus company.

Wallkill School District Responds After 5-Year-Old Was Put On Wrong Bus

Don Murray, Getty Images

Superintendent Anthony White issued a statement acknowledging the incident and saying the district takes situations of this nature very seriously.

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"Student safety is our highest priority," White told Hudson Valley Post. "We have reviewed the circumstances surrounding the incident and have been in communication with the family."

White confirmed that the district has established procedures designed to ensure students are placed on the correct bus at dismissal, including specific protocols for its youngest learners.

Front view of a yellow school bus on a street

He also acknowledged that those procedures failed in this case.

"While an error occurred in this instance, the student's safety was never placed at risk," White said.

The district says it is now examining the circumstances that led to the mistake and reinforcing existing procedures with staff to help prevent similar situations in the future.

White noted that because the matter involves a student, the district is limited in what it can share publicly and cannot discuss individual student records or circumstances.

Arabella's mother, Elina Sanchez, contacted Hudson Valley Post after the incident to share her story.

She told us she only found out something was wrong when she was already standing at her son's regular bus stop and he wasn't on it.

a stop sign attached to the side of a school bus

She said she called the school and they had no information, then called the bus company three times over nearly an hour before her son finally arrived home.

Sanchez also told us she has lost trust in the district entirely.

The district did not address what specifically caused the mix-up.