OKEECHOBEE — The termination hearing for an employee of the Okeechobee School District was held at the meeting of the Okeechobee County School Board on Tuesday, July 8.

Rose Randazzo, a bus aide for ESE bus #57, was suspended without pay on May 25, 2023 due to an incident that occurred on May 11, 2023. An ESE bus is for students who are disabled and those with unique learning needs. An Everglades Elementary School student who rode bus #57 did not get off the bus when it arrived at the school on the morning of May 11, 2023. The student remained on the bus through the remainder of the driver’s route that morning and was not discovered until the driver had finished the route and parked the bus at Ding-A-Ling Deli on Southeast US 441.

When the incident occurred, Ken Kenworthy was the superintendent for Okeechobee Schools and he recommended termination for both the driver of bus #57 and the bus aide, Rose Randazzo, for violating employee protocol. The bus driver, however, resigned his position shortly after the incident. Dylan Tedders, the current superintendent of Okeechobee Schools, decided to maintain  Kenworthy’s position of Randazzo’s termination.

Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services Dr. Joseph Stanley, who worked as director of human resources at the time of the incident, was called as a witness. Dr. Stanley gave a synopsis of what happened on the morning of May 11, 2023 from approximately 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. He explained that bus #57 stopped at Everglades Elementary School first and then went on to two other elementary schools in the area, followed by both middle schools. He alleges that the child that should have been dropped off at Everglades Elementary was not discovered until around 9:34 a.m. after the bus had made all of its stops for the morning.

According to the employee handbook issued by Okeechobee’s Department of Transportation, the bus driver and aide are required to check the bus after each stop for any sleeping or hiding children to ensure that all children are off the bus. This means, as the board pointed out, that Randazzo had five opportunities to check the bus that morning.

Randazzo had the chance to speak on her own behalf at the hearing and she did not deny that the child was left on the bus that morning. When asked why she did not walk the isles of the bus to make sure all of the children had gotten off Randazzo, who is in her 70s, said that her bad knee was bothering her that day and she had informed the bus driver that morning. She also stated that the child was never left alone during that time period and was found as soon as the bus was parked for the day.

Randazzo’s lawyer called a parent of another student as witness on her behalf as well. The parent explained another incident in which she claims Randazzo pulled her child out of the road when it appeared he was about to be struck by oncoming traffic. The parent said that she was grateful for Rose Randazzo.

Ultimately the board voted unanimously to uphold the superintendent’s recommendation to terminate the bus aide's employment. They agreed that she did not violate the protocol that no child should be left alone/unattended but believe she did violate protocol by not doing a complete interior inspection of the bus after each stop to ensure no students were left on board.

Counsel for Rose Randazzo maintains that progressive discipline should have been taken before termination but the board expressed that when it comes to student safety concerns, it’s too serious to take any chances. Jill Holcomb, the board chair, explained that if a child were left on a bus and not discovered, it could potentially result in death due to the high temperatures reached during the day here in Florida. Therefore, violating protocol that ensures no child is left on a bus is very serious violation.