Officials, Parents Defend Driver Review Process

Natasha Garnetta Snipes of 6108 Green Hollow Lane in Durham was charged Monday with two misdemeanor counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and vandalism to personal property, police reports state.

Snipes held a gun to a 22-year-old female's head during an altercation Sunday night, police reports state.

Steve Scroggs, assistant superintendent for support services, said Wednesday that school officials would not comment on whether Snipes is still working for the school system because the district is conducting a personnel investigation into the incident.

Scroggs admitted that there have been problems with other personnel in the past but would not disclose further details. "This has happened before," he said. "Every case is handled on an individual basis. We do investigate each and every incident."

Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education member Lisa Stuckey said she has never heard complaints about bus drivers.

"I'm a parent of children who ride the bus every day," she said. "My children have been satisfied with their experience."

Mary Glenn Benton, president of the PTA at Frank Porter Graham Elementary School, said she also has been impressed by the school bus system.

"I absolutely think the buses are safe," she said. "I think that the drivers are of the highest possible caliber, and I would think that this is a huge anomaly."

Benton said the parents she represents have not brought any issues of school bus safety to her attention. She noted that the school bus administrators are proactive in addressing problems.

"Whenever I call (the office of Transportation Administrator Mary Lin Truelove), I get an immediate reply. ... If there is a shortage of bus drivers because of an illness, she will get in a bus and drive it herself," she said.

Scroggs said the school system attempts to prevent problems with a thorough hiring process.

"We do criminal checks on every employee in the district," he said. "We go back 10 years in state and out of state."

Scroggs said the bus drivers also are randomly selected to complete drug tests in accordance with federal guidelines. He refused to comment on whether Snipes had been tested.

"If she was (tested), we couldn't tell you," he said. "It's a confidentiality issue."

When a crime is reported, the school sometimes works in conjunction with the Chapel Hill Police Department to conduct internal investigations, Scroggs said.

"The things we always do in investigations is make sure the safety, health and instruction of our kids is good," he said.

Scroggs said the system sets a high standard for the safety of its students.

"We look at situations where we worry about health and safety," he said.

"We worry about the kids."

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.