Buckeye Board of Education candidate involved in incident with student when she was employed at the district

YORK TWP. — Buckeye Board of Education candidate Pauleva "C.C." Huttinger was involved in an incident with a student when she was employed as a bus driver for Buckeye Schools. According to Huttinger's personnel file, the Buckeye Board of Education approved a classified continuing contract for her to be a bus driver for the district on Oct. 13, 2020. The incident occurred on May 19. Personnel documents state that a student with a disability had his phone out and was playing music on it. Huttinger asked the student to put the phone away, and he refused. As the student attempted to depart the bus, she blocked the exit with her arm. She continued to ask about the phone, and the student continued to refuse. She then used her radio to contact the district's transportation department. In a statement, Huttinger said her arm was extended to block the exit while she spoke to the student about his phone. The student became more upset, and Huttinger believed she needed help to calm him down and called for her supervisor on the radio. The student attempted to depart the bus, and she grabbed his bag as he tried to walk down the bus stairs. Huttinger said she reached to grab him because she did not clear her mirrors for traffic, which would ensure he would have a safe exit off the bus. She then closed the bus doors and caught the student between the doors, according to documents from Buckeye. The door was open at that time because that is how the "stop" arm and red lights activate. Huttinger said she was concerned he would be injured if he fell down the stairs and onto the road, so she closed the bus doors. While the doors were closing, he exited the bus, and she said the doors touched his backpack. "There is nothing inappropriate or unprofessional about a bus driver reaching out to stop a student from exiting a bus before they check their mirrors for traffic and safety reasons, especially when there was some time delaying traffic," she said in a statement to The Gazette on Wednesday. The district claims within the documents that Huttinger was given training on de-escalation techniques. She said she did not receive the training, especially not for bus specific situations. The documents from Buckeye state that Huttinger refused multiple times to transport the student after the incident. She said it was one of two separate instances in which she refused to drive a student, and it was because of the severity of the incident. "This was to bring attention to the utter lack of support drivers get," she said. The district also claims in the documents that Huttinger failed to report or document the incident in a timely manner. Loudermill rights pre-termination hearings with Huttinger were scheduled for July 25 and Aug. 24. The intent was to discuss the possibility of terminating her employment with Buckeye Schools. Buckeye stated Huttinger violated board of education policies such as "staff ethics," "student supervision and welfare," "bullying and other forms of aggressive behavior," "corporal punishment" and "positive behavior intervention and supports and limited use of restraint and seclusion." "There was common ground between both admin and employee to keep students safe in this incident and in the policies and bylaws," Huttinger said. "Common ground is the start to what brings understanding, growth, compromise and success for everyone involved." Huttinger said she was not fired, and she already had another job lined up anyway. The Buckeye Board of Education accepted her resignation during a special board meeting on Aug. 25. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.