A Lubec Elementary School teacher was arrested and a number of Lubec high school students were frightened on the morning of Wednesday, October 8, after a school bus driver transporting the students to Washington Academy and Machias Memorial High School pulled over to the side of the road at Whiting corner because some of the students engaged in unsafe behavior.
     Washington County Sheriff Donnie Smith was at home when he received a text message at about 8 a.m. from a deputy sheriff that a call had come in that a fight had broken out on the bus. Marine Patrol Officer Russell Wright was at the scene when Smith arrived. "When I got there it was total chaos," Smith says. The back door to the bus had been ripped off, with Smith later finding out that one or more parents had done so; some students had run into the woods; and a group of students was beside the bus lying on the ground crying, he says.
     "When I got there and saw the kids on the ground crying, I thought something really bad had happened," says Smith. Thankfully, he says, it was not as bad as it looked. "The school bus driver had pulled over because he was having difficulty with some students," says AOS #77 Superintendent Jim Underwood. The superintendent could not comment on the identity of the bus driver or elementary school teacher Debbie Bousquet's arrest, and whether she had left her elementary school classroom to go to the bus. "It is a personnel matter under investigation. If there is any action it is confidential, and by law I can't talk about it," he says.
     About 25 students were on the bus, and Underwood stresses that they are all unharmed. The sheriff says that a good part of the morning was spent tracking down the students and making sure they were OK.
     Smith reports that when he arrived at the bus, Bousquet was already there. While he understands that she was concerned for her daughter, "She acted inappropriately by beating on the bus door and getting in the bus driver's face. She wouldn't stop escalating the situation." He says he "had no choice but to arrest her." Other parents and some staff from the Regional Medical Center at Lubec had arrived and helped "calm the situation down," he adds.
     Bousquet's lawyer, Jeffrey Davidson, says that while he still needs to learn many of the details, he understands that upon arrival at the scene the sheriff was brandishing his gun and ordering the children down on the ground. "Hopefully the deputy sheriffs had their recording devices on." He says that his understanding of events is that the situation was under control with two officers already on the scene, but that when the sheriff arrived his behavior caused the situation to deteriorate. He adds that he understands that both the sheriff and bus driver put their hands on Bousquet. He adds that he hopes that the students and parents were using their iPhones or other devices to record what happened so that a clear picture of what actions the sheriff took will be available. "I'm not sure yet what we've got here. But I do know that we have some pissed parents." He adds that ultimately it will be the district attorney's office that decides whether the case goes forward or not.
     A group of high school students had been engaged in unsafe behavior on the bus before with the same and other bus drivers, says the sheriff. Two weeks before the most recent incident Smith had by happenstance met the same bus driver pulled over to the side of the road with the bus' yellow lights flashing. When the sheriff pulled next to the bus, thinking it had broken down, the driver got out and told Smith, "I can't do this," and he pointed to the students. "It was chaos," the sheriff says. The bus driver asked for help in assigning seats. "I read them the riot act, told them they needed to stay in their seats, that it's a public safety issue." The students were assigned seats, and went on their way. When Smith checked in with the bus driver a week later, he was told that it was somewhat better. Davidson says, "This was the third time my client was called to come pick up students."
     A report has been compiled of students and unsafe behavior, says Underwood. "We take these matters very seriously. Every single name and issue will be investigated." He adds, "My intent is that every student who was engaged in or initiated unsafe behavior will be subject to losing the privilege."

School board addresses incident
     More than 40 people crowded into the Lubec school board meeting held later that day, with many standing in the hallway craning their necks to see into the room. The bus incident was not on the agenda, but it was the first item discussed.
     George "Bubba" Eaton was the first to speak, asking that cameras be placed on the buses to monitor student activities. "What is being done?" he asked, pointing out, "I can't remember when I was going to school calling the police." Part‑time driver Bruce Wilson said it had been "an interesting two weeks" and suggested that the problems originated primarily with "just two people." "They get out of control," he said, "and it's harmful for the good students."      Bus driver Alba Briggs, in a later comment, said, "It's not just two of them, it's a much larger group." Wilson showed a collection of broken pencils he had collected from "a broken pencil fight."
     Teacher Anna Street told the board that her husband had worked as a driver, but he "would not take that Machias run for a million dollars."
     Several speakers questioned the effectiveness of cameras, pointing out that they may be useful after the fact but won't prevent an incident from occurring.
     Board Chair Melissa Farren kept the comments brief but allowed many people to speak. All agreed that the problems were restricted to the Machias run, and many urged the board to have a second staff member riding that bus.      All asked the same question: "What is being done?" Many comments prompted applause, but the crowd remained respectful and restrained.
     Underwood admitted that there had been some lapses in communication between the school and the parents, then he outlined his plan for investigating the incidents. "I'm going to ride on the bus tomorrow," he said, "and spend the day at Machias High and interview each of the students, one at a time." When one parent suggested he do the same at Washington Academy, he replied, "OK, I'll do that too, but it'll be the next day." Underwood promised to withhold any judgment until he was able to speak to all and draw his own conclusions about what had happened. "Where do we go from here?" he asked. "It all depends on what we hear tomorrow."
     Underwood concluded his remarks by stating, "Bus transportation is a privilege; it is not something we have to do." He suggested that behavior issues may result in a student being excluded from the bus. At the close of the meeting board member Stephanie Page said, "I would like to see someone on that bus." A motion was made by Page to assign a staff member to that role "until we meet again." The motion was seconded by member Danielle Caricofe and passed unanimously.