Girl dropped off alone at bus stop

NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - The North Providence School Committee unanimously recommended Monday night that a school bus driver and bus monitor be fired, after a five-year-old girl was dropped off alone at a bus stop the Friday before Christmas.

School Committee members called the emergency meeting, after receiving a letter from the girl's outraged parents. They said their daughter was dropped off on Smithfield Road near Lawnacre Drive, even though there was no adult present. A passerby said she found the girl, cold and frightened, waiting for her grandmother.

Under school policy, children cannot be dropped off at a bus stop unless there is a parent or guardian waiting for them. If no one is there to meet them, the children are supposed to be driven back to school.

Friends of the family railed against school superintendent Donna Ottoviano at Monday night's meeting for not acting on the incident sooner.

"Nothing was done, everything was pushed under the rug," said Marie Mello, a friend of the girl's family. "It's unbelievable."

Ottoviano denied that she ignored the incident, and said it has been under investigation since it happened.

Northeast Bus Company, which serves North Providence schools, said in a letter that it had talked to its drivers about not leaving children alone at bus stops. However, Superintendent Ottoviano said she would tell the company to fire the bus driver and bus monitor responsible, based on the School Committee's recommendation.

A spokesperson for Northeast Bus Company said the owner was not available for comment Monday night.