A longtime Harford County school bus driver has lost her certification to drive students after she let a 10-year-old step off her bus on a rural road to pick up an injured kitten, and more than 1,100 people have now signed a petition asking the school system to bring her back. The case has spread far beyond North Harford, and it raises a question many Maryland parents rarely think about: who decides whether a bus driver keeps the job, and on what grounds?
Cynthia Morgan, 67, said she has driven Harford County Public Schools students for 11 years, the last seven or so for contractor Cleary Transportation Inc., according to The Baltimore Sun. Parents on her North Harford Elementary School route describe her as unusually devoted. The school system says certification decisions rest on student safety and are not always based on a single factor.
What happened on Heaps School Road?
According to the Sun, a 10-year-old boy, the only child on the bus at the time, spotted a tiny kitten on the side of Heaps School Road last week. Morgan pulled over and told him to go get it. The boy held the kitten for the rest of the ride to North Harford Elementary and then left it with Morgan.
Morgan confirmed that account to CBS News Baltimore but declined to speak on camera. Parents told the station that Heaps School Road is a rural, low-traffic road, a detail they see as important. Parent Carolyn Kalambihis, whose children Morgan has driven for five years, also acknowledged the risk: “There is no question that it was a mistake.”
Why was the bus driver removed?
Morgan shared with the Sun an Oct. 5 letter from Danielle Bedsaul, the school system’s transportation director, to Cleary Transportation. According to the Sun, the letter says a review of bus video confirmed that Morgan let a student off the bus to retrieve a cat from the road, kept the animal on board for the rest of the route, and drove with the cat on her lap after dropping students off.
The letter also cites “multiple incidents” involving Morgan, including “concerns regarding inappropriate interactions with students,” the Sun reported. Harford County Public Schools has not publicly described those other incidents, and it declined to discuss Morgan’s case. The letter says that in a meeting with the school system, Morgan maintained she had not put the student at risk and defended her actions.
Morgan told the Sun she was shocked by the decision.
Who decides whether a Maryland bus driver can keep driving?
This is where the story turns on a detail many families miss. Morgan was not a school system employee. She worked for a private contractor. But the school system certifies every driver who carries its students, and losing that certification effectively ends the job on HCPS routes, whoever signs the paycheck.
“HCPS is responsible for certifying individuals to safely transport students on behalf of the school system.”
Jillian Lader, Harford County Public Schools spokesperson, via The Baltimore Sun
The rules come from the state. Under COMAR 13A.06.07.07, the Maryland regulation on school vehicle drivers, each local supervisor of transportation can disqualify and terminate a driver for any “unsafe action.” There is no fixed list of what counts. That leaves wide discretion to each of Maryland’s 24 school systems.
The same chapter’s routing rules open with a simple standard: “The prime consideration is the safety of riders.” It also requires on-road stops to be made in the travel lane, not the shoulder, using the bus’s eight-light safety system.
How the Harford County bus driver case unfolded
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| Week of Sept. 28 (exact day not reported) | A student leaves the bus on Heaps School Road to pick up an injured kitten, according to parents and the Sun. |
| Oct. 5 | HCPS transportation director sends a letter to Cleary Transportation citing the kitten stop and “multiple incidents.” |
| Oct. 5 | A Change.org petition asking for Morgan’s reinstatement goes live. |
| Oct. 8 | CBS News Baltimore reports parents are rallying behind Morgan. |
| Oct. 9 | The Baltimore Sun reports more than 630 signatures; the story spreads nationally. |
| Oct. 10 | The petition shows more than 1,100 verified signatures. |
What are parents asking for?
The petition is addressed to Melissa Hahn, the District D member of the Harford County Board of Education. It praises Morgan’s care for students, asks for a fair review, and argues that a two-day suspension would have been a more proportionate penalty than termination.
Parents say Morgan buys every child on her bus school supplies at the start of the year, along with holiday gifts and birthday cards, out of her own pocket. The boy’s mother told the Sun she is fully behind Morgan. Kalambihis told CBS News Baltimore she believes Morgan knows she made a mistake, but called the decision excessive and said it could have been handled differently.
Cleary Transportation referred questions to the school system, the Sun reported. CBS News Baltimore said the company had not responded to its request for comment.
Can the decision be appealed?
Maryland’s student transportation rules include an appeal route. Under COMAR 13A.06.07.22, a school vehicle driver or attendant who has gone through the local school system’s appeal process can then take the case to the Maryland State Board of Education.
It is not publicly known whether Morgan has filed an appeal, or whether the school system will revisit its decision. HCPS has said it cannot discuss the certification status of individual drivers.
What should Harford County parents know?
- Your child’s driver may work for a contractor. Questions about a route or a driver still go to HCPS Transportation, because the school system certifies drivers.
- Bus video is reviewed. In this case, the school system’s letter relied on footage from the bus.
- Board members take public comment. Families who want to weigh in on transportation policy can contact their district’s board member or speak at a Board of Education meeting.
Questions about student safety and school decisions are a recurring theme across the region this fall, from crowding at Overlea High School in Baltimore County to transportation rules like the ones now under scrutiny in Harford County.
Featured image: A school bus on Maryland Route 135 in Garrett County, used for illustration; it is not the bus involved in this story. Photo: Famartin / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.