Terry Arbogast responds…sort of
Floyd County School Superintendent Terry Arbogast doesn’t like to talk to us but he at least responded to The Roanoke Times when they followed up today on our investigation into speeding and running of stop signs by some Floyd County school bus drivers.
Arbogast claims he has not received any direct complaints about county school bus drivers. Some Floyd County parents say he’s not telling the truth, adding they have complained often in the past but nothing was done.
Clearly a case of "he said, they said," but Arbogast’s comments to The Times about our video that shows three buses running the stop sign at Barberry Road and East Main Street raises questions about his eyesight or his willingness to admit the truth:
After seeing the video, Arbogast said, "We talked directly with individuals who might have been part of that."
He said he recognized that at least one driver was "more pausing instead of stopping," but he said he didn’t see it as a widespread problem.
He pointed to an "extraordinary" driving record of Floyd’s bus drivers, who haul about 1,900 students on 46 buses each day.
"I think there’s just sometimes that we need to be reminded," he said.
"I don’t expect to hear about it again."
Say what? At least one driver "more pausing instead of stopping?" The video clearly shows two buses driving through the intersection without stopping and one other bus slowing but not coming to a complete stop.
Had Arbogast or anyone from his office asked, I could have provided a full-resolution copy of the video that shows the bus numbers of the drivers who ran the stop signs but I’ve heard nothing from anyone connected with the school system. That tells me that he is more interested in glossing over the situation up than in getting to the truth of which drivers might be putting school children at risk with reckless driving habits.
Arbogast’s comments to the Times leaves three options:
- The Times misquoted him;
- He needs a vision test;
- Or he’s deliberately refusing to admit the truth.
Interestingly, his comments to The Times provide more information than he gave to the county board of trustees last week when Indian Valley Supervisor Fred Gerald asked what had been done about reports of dangerous driving by school bus drivers.
Arbogast clearly got angry when the question was raised. He blustered a lot but said little. Some supervisors said later they were shocked by the tone of Arbogast’s response.
"He clearly was flustered," Courthouse Supervisor Jerry Boothe said.
Arbogast didn’t give the board any details, choosing to hide behind a law that protects employee privacy. However, that law does not prevent him from telling the board and the public statistics on what actions, if any, have been taken against bus drivers who break the law. He could provide stats on the number of drivers, if any, who have been disciplined, suspended or fired. Perhaps a formal request under Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) can open some of the closed doors at the Floyd County School system.
He’s wrong to think he won’t hear about this again. He failed to mention that the letter to drivers telling them to obey speed limits and stop signs went out more than a week before I videotaped the drivers still running stop signs at Barberry and Eastd Main. I’m still getting reports of drivers breaking the law and I’m not the only one out there with a video camera.
Some drivers obviously didn’t take school bus boss Mike Carr’s warnings seriously. Why should they? Three’s no record showing that anything has been done in the past. Instead of trying to smooth the situation over with bureaucratic doublespeak, the administration of Floyd County’s schools needs to prove to the public that they really do care about the safety of the children they transport. From what I’ve seen to date, I’m inclined to believe they really don’t give a damn. A school administrator or school board chairman with nothing to hide would get in my face and prove I was wrong. Sadly, it appears that only a tragedy will bring about real action and change.
Doug, the critical eye you cast upon the governmental entities of Floyd County illustrate all too well the problems that citizens face when trying to deal with a passive bureaucracy that believes only in protecting the status quo.
We lived in Floyd County for 17 years. We loved the county and its people but could no longer deal with the “look the other way” attitudes of the school administration and the board of supervisors.
Floyd has so much to offer but that promise is diluted by a lack of vision of the elected officials and a CYA attitude of the school superintendent.
Keep up the good work.
Doug, I have a 5 year old who rides a bus and there needs to be some actions taken. Arbogast needs to start doing the job he is suppose to be doing before something happens to our kids.
When I read Mr. Arbogast’s comments in this morning’s Roanoke Times, I immediately thought of the movie “Clueless.” It certainly describes the superintendent of Floyd County’s school system.
My daughter sent me a text about 45 mins ago to tell me a bus hit a car and her bus had to go pick up the kids.
I hope no one was injured!
People on here need to find something more to do than complaining! Did your daughter also tell you that the fog was to thick that you could barely see in front of your face? My daughter also rides that bus, and the driver is a wonderful person. Did you also think about how many people have a accident in this kind of weather? But OH NO! It’s a school bus driver and let’s hang her from a tree. Bus drivers are HUMAN, I think people are forgetting that. They do the very best they can to get our children back and fourth to school. I wonder has any one complaining on this site ever looked at their own driving record? Why don’t people start thinking about how much of a demanding job they have, and get off your high horse!!! And Doug, I think you need to find something to do. It is very clear you have to much time on your hands. Maybe someone needs to get a video and start dissecting your life, I am sure you are not PERFECT EIGHTER!
Before anyone starts running off with the mouth. I typed the title wrong. I guess that means I am human as well!
Tiffany:
People are welcome to follow me anytime they want. In fact, a group of relatives of school bus drivers have been shadowing me since I wrote the first article about the drivers. The difference is that if someone catches me breaking the law, I will admit it and say I’m wrong. I won’t come up with an excuse for doing so.
One who followed me for a couple of weeks finally came into my studio and said: "OK, I give up. You drive like a little old lady."
I’m not sure if that is a compliment or not but the fact remains that I am someone who considers traffic laws to be just that: Laws that should be obeyed, not something to be ignored if they are not convenient. Maybe it’s because I have buried loved ones who died at the hands of a reckless driver who also had more than one excuse for breaking the law. Maybe it’s because I’m a recovering alcholic who works with alcholics whose actions have cost the lives of others.
As I’ve stated before, most of Floyd County’s school drivers are good ones. But we have some bad apples who disregard stop signs and speed limits. And we have a school admininstration that would rather gloss over a problem than confront it and deal open and honestly with the public. I only hope it doesn’t take the death of a child to wake some folks up.
And the problem is not limited to a few school bus drivers. Bad driving is a way of life in this area. I point that problem out in an article on today’s home page.