Karen Klein School bus attendant reduced to tears by students' taunts

[rachy]

Greece School District bus monitor: "It's just plain mean, no one should have to live with that."

It's a video that's gone viral. Students bullying a bus monitor. News10NBC has confirmed with the Greece School District that the video was taken on one of its middle school bus routes.

The video, posted on YouTube, has gained national attention. It shows students verbally attacking bus monitor Karen Klein over and over again. News10NBC is not showing the students faces because they are minors.

While News10NBC was with Karen Klein, people were stopping over and flowers were being delivered. People are coming out to support her through this. Klein says she still can't believe this happened and that the video was taken by a student who is always very kind to her.

Karen Klein said, It's just plain mean and no one should have to live with that.

In her 20 plus years as a bus driver and monitor with the Greece Central Schools, Klein has never ran into this kind of behavior.

Klein said, Everything started out as usual. I don't know what happened.

Klein explains the four kids in the video often misbehave, but what happened Monday was taking things to a whole new level.

There are now three videos that the Greece Police and school district are investigating. They are trying to figure out exactly who is verbally attacking Klein.

Debra Hoeft, Greece School District, said, We do not tolerate harassment of staff or students. While we can not comment on specific student discipline, we can say that students found to be involved will face strong disciplinary actions.

In one of the videos, the kids are calling her names, swearing at her and even making physical threats. Klein doesn't say much to the middle schoolers.

Klein said, I was trying to just ignore. I'm hoping they would go away, but it doesn't work.

Klein said she didn't know about the video until Wednesday morning, and watched it for the first time at the police station when she went to help them with their investigation.

Klein said, It's so weird. I was like, It wasn't me and it had to somebody else. It can't be me.

Klein said the kids taunting were hurtful and disrespectful. While she did keep her calm throughout it, at one point, she let her emotions come up.

Klein told News10NBC she does plan on returning to work, but says she will never take a run that these students are on.

In the next few days, the students will have a superintendent hearing with their parents and lawyers if they wish and this issue is presented to the superintendent and the board. The disciplinary actions will be decided then.

http://www.whec.com/news/stories/S2662463.shtml?cat=565

[rachy]

School bus attendant reduced to tears by students' taunts
Karen Huff Klein, 68, was caught on video enduring a scathing litany of insults and threats

An investigation has been launched after a group of middle school students from upstate New York were caught viciously taunting a school bus attendant on Monday until she broke down in tears in a 10-minute video that has gone viral.

In the video, which was uploaded to YouTube by a concerned third party who found it on Facebook, Karen Huff Klein, 68, endures one awful, profanity-laced comment after another from a group of male and female students during a bus ride. Greece Central (N.Y.) School District officials contacted police on Wednesday morning after seeing the video, and students believed to have been involved have been questioned by school and police officials, according to a report by the Democrat & Chronicle.

Klein was a bus driver for 20 years and has worked as a bus monitor in the district for the last three years. The students abandon any civility in the video as they taunt her by calling her “an elephant,’’ and saying they will egg her house in addition to numerous unprintable slurs and comments. She first saw the video Wednesday morning at the district’s bus garage, according to the Democrat & Chronicle. Klein is hearing-impaired and did not hear all of the taunts when they first happened on Monday before seeing everything in the video.

“It was like ‘wow,’” she told the newspaper. “I can’t believe it happened. It was just plain mean. Nobody should have to put up with that. I was trying to just ignore them, hoping they would go away and it doesn’t work. Trust me, they didn’t go away.”

Klein told a local television reporter that a taunt that particularly hurt was when one student said, “You’re so ugly, your kid should kill themselves.’’ Klein said her son committed suicide 10 years ago.

Counterbalancing the viciousness of the students has been an online fund-raising drive to give her the vacation of a lifetime after watching her endure the abuse. By Tuesday night, the fund-raising effort already had more than 1,600 donors contributing over $37,000 for Klein, who earns $15,506 a year at her bus monitor position. A 1962 graduate of Olympia Greece High School and a grandmother of eight, she has been a widow for 17 years and still resides in Greece.

“Still working for Greece,’’ she wrote on her Facebook page. “Unless I come into lots of money I will continue to work. I enjoy it also.’’

The bus driver and students who were on the bus during the incident have been interviewed, according to school officials. Any disciplinary action would be taken in September because school is done for the year. None of the students were identified by the district because they are juveniles.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/478969.../#.T-K3ypKdTDt

[White trash bitchy blonde]

I didnt even watch that for a whole 3 minutes before I had to turn it off. The whole thing is disgusting. I would be sooooo enraged had this been my mom or grandma or whatever.
Did the buss driver not hear this going on? The first part doesnt seem like the kids are screaming or yelling so I don't know if it's possible that the bus driver didnt hear it or what but I feel terrible for this woman.

I hope these kids are disciplined hard over this. They are in middle school for god's sake. Get them corrected now before they get ballsier when they are in high school or even after high school.

My kids would get an ass beating like no other and they would be hobbling on the way over to apologize profusely to the victim.

[PunkerDuckie]

I couldn't watch it all either. Kids are so mean.

[kevansvault]

My bus driver looked similar to her in middle/high school. Sweetest lady EVERRRRR. We would never dream of treating someone like that. But this is what happens when you don't teach your children the difference between right and wrong. The parents of these students should be ashamed, but they're probably too stupid to know why. Fucking dumb ass children. These fucking kids should have a rope tied around their waist and be dragged behind the bus. Little assholes.

[kevansvault]

That bus driver didn't do her any favors either. I'd have stopped that goddamn bus and called the police and had them all taken to their parents via "public transportation with bars". Fucking little brats.

[FloobaToob]

I can't watch the video as my phone is crap.

I hate kids. My life would not have been worth living for a long time if I'd been involved in something like that. My mom is lovely, but she scares the crap out of me

[FloobaToob]

The bit about her son is horrible :(

What's the age of middle school kids?

[nestlequikie]

Old enough to know better, floob. 11-ish to 14-ish...

This video made me cry. Then when I found out about Karen's son.... ugh.

[FloobaToob]

Holy crap, I thought it would be like our primary age, which is up to 10 or 11 I think.

My life definitely wouldn't have been worth living. I hope every parent there expresses their disappointment. I can't explain what I mean, but I just hope they are made to feel awful. Fucking awful.

[rachy]

heres a fund raisers they are doing for her so far they've raised $118,463 and they still got 30 days left,awesome.
http://www.indiegogo.com/loveforkarenhklein



http://www.reddit.com/r/UpliftingNew...s_please_read/

[rachy]

heres a facebook and twitter for her

http://www.facebook.com/KindnessForKaren
https://twitter.com/karenkindness

[sarabei]

I haven't watched it. I can't tolerate things like that. Little bastards! I wanna hear from the parents. If this was my kid...OMG they wouldn't do shit but work for this lady the entire summer. ANYTHING she needed done, lawn, painting house, scraping gum off the sidewalk. I don't care, they would learn what it IS to be punished! >:(

[Ron_NYC]

It's news that kids are assholes?

Teens (for the most part) lack sympathy and empathy. They're little sociopaths. Where's Zo? She's a high school teacher, she can confirm this.

[strmmrgrrl]

heres a facebook and twitter for her

http://www.facebook.com/KindnessForKaren
https://twitter.com/karenkindness

A comment from the Facebook page:

Beth Hodges Vowell I'm in CO, and Good Morning America just showed Karen's story!They played a few snippets of the video, interviewed Karen, showed this website, and even interviewed the dad of one of the boys involved. Hopefully, the documentation of this horrible event will bring more awareness to the bullying epidemic, and get people (kids and adults) to stand up and speak out when someone bullies someone else!

I wanna know what he said!

[strmmrgrrl]

Found it:

The father of one of the teenage boys who was involved in the bullying says his "heart broke" to see that his son was part of the abuse, but that the boys have suffered enough with their faces made public in the video.

"My family's received death threats," Robert Helms told ABC News. "He's a 13-year-old kid. It was a stupid mistake and he's paying for it but I just think it's a little out of control."

Fuuuuuuck him! What about the death threats Karen had to endure? Maybe if you're kid wasn't such a bag of shit, you wouldn't be dealing with this. Your brat brought this on you and himself and no one else. Fucking deal with it.

[strmmrgrrl]

Apparently this wasn't the first time they pulled this shit.

[strmmrgrrl]

[TheFavoriteDaughter]

Ugh, that's the kind of response I knew was going to come out. How about have some fucking decency to be ashamed by your child's behavior!

[strmmrgrrl]

Ugh, that's the kind of response I knew was going to come out. How about have some fucking decency to be ashamed by your child's behavior!

Exactly! No shame or remorse for what the little shit did. Just remorse for himself and his family because they are now thrust into the spotlight. Fuck this guy.

[sarabei]

Exactly! No shame or remorse for what the little shit did. Just remorse for himself and his family because they are now thrust into the spotlight. Fuck this guy.

THAT is exactly what is wrong with kids today and WHY they lack empathy and compassion. It is because of asshole parents like this who are all, he is only 13 it was a MISTAKE, quit being MEAN to my little posey. UGH. I was hoping the parents would step up and do the right thing. I wouldn't defend my child in this, no way no how. He deserves what he is getting, and now the dad is too. I don't agree with death threats obviously, but FUCK this asshole!!

[Ron_NYC]

Exactly! No shame or remorse for what the little shit did. Just remorse for himself and his family because they are now thrust into the spotlight. Fuck this guy.

Expected different?
You think kids like this come from good stock? I mean, that happens sometimes, but it's very rare. Assholes usually breed assholes.

[sarabei]

Expected different?
You think kids like this come from good stock? I mean, that happens sometimes, but it's very rare. Assholes usually breed assholes.

If only it wasn't illegal to cull the herd....sigh....

[debk589]

If this was my kid...OMG they wouldn't do shit but work for this lady the entire summer. ANYTHING she needed done, lawn, painting house, scraping gum off the sidewalk. I don't care, they would learn what it IS to be punished! >:(

This. SO 100% this. I don't even know how I would react if my offspring treated a sweet lady this way. But I can guarantee you he never will. Or so help me god if that was my grandmother or mother?! I'd hunt those little bastards down. I can't find anywhere where you can donate to her vacation, but she deserves it!!! Apparently they've already raised like $100,000 for her. Good!! Let this sweet lady retire and never have to deal with these little fuckers again. Augh.

[debk589]

derderder. found the link above to donate. I donated $10 towards her vacation. Not a whole lot but I'm poor and maybe she can use that $10 for a nice stiff margarita on the beach somewhere. :)