It all happened because a teacher was trying to do something nice. She offered a wheelchair-bound woman and her male companion a ride on the school bus, but it turns out the companion was a registered sex offender.
"I was extremely disappointed and sad, and a little upset that this actually happened, this breach of our policy by one of our staff members," said East Side Union High School Superintendent Chris Funk. He says a registered sex offender should not have been on a school bus full of students.
Funk said the wheelchair-bound woman was the parent of one of the students. She and her companions were with juniors and seniors on a field trip to De Anza College. The two did not ride over to De Anza on the bus, but found themselves without a ride back.
"On the way home, we had a parent-volunteer who was wheelchair-bound, who was with another adult who was helping her get around, request a ride back on the bus to Andrew Hill because they did not have a ride," Funk explained. "And our staff member allowed that to happen."
A parent contacted the superintendent who sent a letter out to parents. "I think that's no good for the kids," parent Don Trung told ABC7 News. "Hopefully, it won't happen again."
"I'm surprised. Something should happen. Oh my gosh," parent Miguel Vasuez said reacting to the news. "Well, we need to find out. I going to go to the office and ask questions."
Funk and the police have themselves been asking questions. They've determined that the man sat at the front of the bus, a few rows away from any kids. "Based on our internal investigation and SJPD's preliminary investigation, there is no interaction with this adult and our students," Funk said.
The superintendent now plans to re-train faculty members who go on field trips with students. "That is my pledge, that our district will not allow this to happen again and violate the trust that our families have with us," Funk said.
San Jose police say at this point, it doesn't appear that any crime was committed although a school policy was indeed violated.
