GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — Charges have been filed after a parent reportedly got on a Guilford County school bus and told children to fight.
Monica Marcus has been charged with trespassing, disorderly conduct and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Greensboro police say they learned Wednesday about a “disorder” that happened on Tuesday on a Guilford County school bus coming from Kernodle Middle School.
A Greensboro officer spoke with the driver and learned that several students were involved in a “verbal altercation” before the bus arrived at Cardinal Apartments on the 6400 block of Old Oak Ridge Road.
When the bus stopped, a parent tried to get on. The driver told police that the woman got onto the bus, found a girl described as her daughter near the back of the bus and told the girl to fight another student. A fight erupted involving three female students.
The driver notified Guilford County Schools transportation, asking for assistance, who in turn called in a school resource officer from Northwest Middle School. The driver did not call police.
The SRO responded but arrived after the fight had ended.
Guilford County Schools responds
In a statement, Guilford County Schools said:
GCS and law enforcement officials are investigating an incident in which a parent of a Kernodle Middle student entered a bus at a bus stop where her child was fighting another student. The bus driver intervened, and the fight was quickly stopped. The parent did not become involved in the fight.
We’re grateful to the bus driver who followed GCS procedures and law enforcement who helped to keep students safe. This type of behavior is not acceptable and will not be tolerated.
GCS later said that the district and law enforcement officials are investigating.
Video goes viral
Disturbing video from the incident began making rounds on social media Tuesday, showing a violent attack and what appeared to be an unauthorized adult on the bus.
The video is nearly a minute long and shows two female students in a fight and an adult woman encouraging one of the students.
In the video, you can see what appears to be an adult woman wearing shorts, a tank top and glasses. You hear her shouting expletives and encouraging one of the female students to “beat” the other student.
Later in the video, the woman is seen trying to separate the students, saying that’s enough.
The video also showed her and one of the students walking off the bus, yelling more expletives and referring to one of the students as her daughter.
The video also shows what appears to be more than a dozen students still on the bus.
The bus driver did not appear to be visible in the video.
Safety concerns
Parents and grandparents of students at Kernodle Middle School didn’t want to speak on camera but said their students ride the bus where the incident happened.
The situation has raised concerns for some about safety and security on school buses.
FOX8 has asked Guilford County School for more information regarding protocol for bus drivers in incidents like this, what measures are in place to prevent unauthorized adults from boarding school buses and how the school intends to respond to this incident.
Ahead of school starting, the district upgraded 600 cameras on school buses to enhance security for the school year.
Mother’s response
Monica Marcus, the mother charged, did not want to speak on camera, but wanted to share her side of the story.
She says her 11-year-old daughter was being bullied.
She got a call from her daughter minutes before the bus approached the stop, who said there were 8th-grade girls touching her hair.
Marcus said she heard a commotion in the background of the phone call. When the bus got to the stop, she said she saw a crowd of children on the back of the bus.
The driver told her she was not allowed on the bus.
She got on and said she was worried for her daughter’s safety and that she was being bullied.
Marcus said her daughter was already fighting with another girl when she got to the back of the bus.
She did admit to encouraging the fight.
Marcus said her daughter told her she was being teased and bullied by 8th-grade girls days before.
Marcus said when they tried to walk off the bus the bus driver locked all the doors and prohibited them from getting off until police arrived.
Students started hopping off the bus through the back door.
She said after police arrived the bus driver pulled off. She met with the principal on Wednesday.
Her daughter was suspended for five days, and she says the other students were also suspended.
Marcus said the principal told her daughter she should have told the school administration about the bullying.
She does not think she will allow her daughter to ride the bus again.
