Parents of a boy in the Hammonds Plains area say they are beyond desperate after their son was attacked on the school bus for the second time this year.
Six-year-old Josh Kluckow said it happened Thursday when he was on his way from school to daycare.
“I got on the bus, I sat with my friend, and then this guy came up and said get out of that seat, and I didn’t get out of the seat, because I was there before him,” said Kluckow.
The older child allegedly hit Kluckow on the head and choked him. Kluckow described the incident to Global News as “really, really bad.”
“He choked me,” said the boy.
“I was in pain,” he said. When asked where he was hurt, he gestured to his neck and said, “my throat.”
His parents said Kluckow spent Friday at the IWK, where he was released with a “clean bill of health.” Despite that, his parents say he is shaken up and “traumatized” following the incident.
“I was crying until I got off at my stop,” said Kluckow.
It’s the latest in an alleged string of bullying incidents on school buses, said his stepdad, John Hirtle.
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“Numerous complaints have been made to the schools, to the buses, to the school boards and nothing has been done — absolutely nothing,” he said, adding he wants to “make someone accountable for what’s going on.”
“It’s our children we’re dealing with. They have to be safe. That’s the bottom line. If they’re not safe, I’m not happy.”
A private Facebook group for the Highland Park subdivision details similar accounts by other families in the neighbourhood.
“I sent a message to the vice principal today about my daughter’s experience this week, and our bus in general as it seems out of control,” wrote one parent.
“I just moved here from out of province, I had to pull my child out of school and found an online school. Complaints and advocacy for the child fall on deaf ears,” wrote another.
The Halifax Regional Centre for Education told Global News that it is aware of this most recent incident, adding it takes “these situations very seriously and approach them with care.”
“When a student or parent/guardian has a concern about an incident that occurred on a bus, it should be reported to the principal or vice-principal. Our school leaders are best able to support families and address issues of student behaviour,” said HRCE communications specialist Deborah Waines-Bauer in an email.
“While we are not able to comment on specific incidents for privacy reasons, I can assure you that violent behaviour is never acceptable and will always be addressed by the school’s administration in accordance with the Provincial School Code of Conduct.”
When asked whether bus monitors might be a solution, Waines-Bauer said that bus monitors are assigned to students with specific health and safety needs and are not typically used to monitor student behaviour. However, Hirtle believes it could help.
“Especially when there’s younger kids involved. Bus drivers are pretty busy, a lot of kids behind them, a lot of distractions,” said Hirtle.
“Just somebody to keep an eye out on things.”
In the meantime, Hirtle said he will be driving Kluckow to and from school for the remainder of the year and is even considering switching schools altogether, as Kluckow now “feels a little scared” about going back on the school bus.
“We leave our kids in the hands of the school board and the schools to keep our kids safe and they’re not safe,” said Hirtle.
“Hopefully this is going to be the end of it.”
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