MEDINA, Ohio -- After the recent OVI arrest of a Medina City Schools bus driver, the district is considering adjustments to its transportation staff policies, including the number of times drivers are subjected to drug and alcohol testing and the times of day these tests are conducted.
Bus driver Herbert Ferguson was arrested Nov. 30 after earlier failing a random alcohol test after one of his runs with students onboard. He faces seven charges, including six counts of child endangerment and one for OVI.
“We do random alcohol and drug testing on all our drivers on a quarterly basis,” said Superintendent Aaron Sable. “That’s mandated through the (Ohio) Department of Transportation.
“On that morning -- it was Nov. 15 -- that bus driver’s name was randomly pulled to be tested, and he tested positive,” Sable said.
The legal limit for alcohol in Ohio is .08 percent. Ferguson was tested twice. He tested at .135 percent the first time and .138 percent the second time, according to Police Chief Ed Kinney.
Ferguson was arrested and immediately relieved of his duties, and the district opened an investigation involving the Medina Police Department. He no longer works for the district.
“It was simply a random test,” said Kinney. “We didn’t get any complaints about his driving, his behavior or anything.”
Sable shared that not only did Ferguson test way over the legal limit, he also admitted to police that he had been drinking while operating the bus.
“We have very high standards,” Sable said. “Actually, the state overall has very high standards for school bus drivers.
“The amount of training that a school bus driver has to go though is beyond a regular (commercial driver’s license). They need additional training to ensure the safety of students that they’re transporting.
“In addition to that, (there is) the regular drug and alcohol testing that occurs currently. At least in our district, they’re the only employees that are subject to that because of the nature of their position,” Sable said.
Currently, bus drivers in the district are monitored in several ways, including the random drug and alcohol tests, as well as through regular interactions with school officials.
“They come in and they have procedures they have to do to check in their buses every day that they’re mandated to do,” Sable said.
“They interact with office personnel on a daily basis, as well as each other. Our drivers are educators and professionals and have high standards for each other, and all want what’s best for our students and place a high regard on safety for our students.”
Sable shared that the district relies on its employees to help ensure the safety of students on a day-to-day basis.
“We have outstanding people there, where safety of our students is their number one priority,” said Sable. “They have that expectation, not only of themselves, but of their peers as well.”
Sable said district officials took time to sit down with the other bus drivers to discuss the incident after it happened.
“This hit them really hard,” he said. “They were really upset by this, because the safety of our students is so important to them.
“That’s one of the frustrating things about this situation, is that this is a black eye on all of us and it’s not a representation of our overall bus drivers in our transportation department at all.”
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