Lakeland Bus Driver to Appeal Termination Decision
A longtime bus driver for the Lakeland School District has vowed to appeal her recent termination from alleged charges of misconduct she has continued to claim stemmed from a union dispute she spearheaded on behalf of about 70 other drivers.
In a 5-3 vote, the Lakeland Board of Education opted on April 6 to go along with a March 24 recommendation from a hearing officer to fire Marina Viera, 14 months after she was suspended with pay.
“They want me fired because I blew the whistle,” remarked Viera, a bus driver for the last 17 years. “This was premeditated. They were looking for things.”
Last year, Viera contended she was targeted by district administrators, specifically Transportation Supervisor Kathleen Cummings, after she and others filed a petition in April 2015 to remove some union representatives over alleged “improper procedures.” Those improper procedures, according to Viera, involved a driver climbing the seniority ladder to choose a route in front of other deserving drivers.
A complaint was also filed by Viera and a handful of others with the state Public Employees Relations Board.
On February 4, 2016, Viera was formally charged by Lakeland Superintendent of Schools Dr. George Stone with 15 counts of “misconduct and/or incompetence,” alleging she took unauthorized 15-20 minute breaks several days in November 2015 during her morning route after all her student passengers were dropped off.
Viera maintained the breaks for coffee and bathroom needs were commonplace among bus drivers and did not constitute a “theft of time,” as the district alleged.
Viera was subjected to administrative hearings with the district this summer where the arbitrator was reportedly paid about $1,600 per day. She was put back on Lakeland’s payroll last September following the summer recess. Since being suspended by Lakeland, Viera has also been employed driving buses with Montauk bus company in the Putnam Valley School District.
“I can’t be that much of a danger if I’m working for another bus company,” she said.
During the hearings at the district’s administrative offices in Shrub Oak, it was revealed that Viera received a five-day suspension and a letter of reprimand in 2009 for using a district vehicle without authorization. However, Viera’s attorney, Russell Wheeler, argued the district had conceded at that time that misstep was likely unintentional and should not play a role in the determination of the alleged misconduct charges.
Wheeler also contended termination was not an appropriate penalty for the charges based on her positive performance evaluations as a driver and testimony from parent witnesses, such as Thomas Martin, who described his confidence in knowing Viera was assigned to transport his young granddaughter and spoke of her ability to competently operate the school bus while managing the various “personalities” of student passengers.
However, during the hearings, the district pointed out in 2009 Viera was warned after she was reprimanded any “theft of time” would result in the district seeking her dismissal. Stone testified that Viera’s theft of time and prior acts of misconduct rendered her untrustworthy.
Hearing Officer Arthur Riegel ruled Viera “at no point assumed responsibility for her actions.”
“She expressed no remorse and provided nothing in the way of assurance that, if reinstated, she would never again engage in the kind of conduct that led to her current situation,” Riegel stated. “The district has no basis to conclude that (Viera) has been rehabilitated.”
Viera, who questioned why the district would spend tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees from taxpayer’s money in a case where allegedly a few hundred dollars was earned during unauthorized breaks, said Lakeland had offered her “a deal” about seven times to settle her case, including resigning, but she declined.
“Why? I didn’t do anything. I said absolutely not,” she said.
Now, faced with not being able to find employment again with a state agency, Viera said she has no choice but to fight back. She has 120 days to appeal in state Supreme Court.
Lakeland trustees who supported the termination were Vice President Denise Kness, Michael Daly, Steve Korn, Elizabeth Kogler and Rachelle Nardelli. Opposing the resolution were board President Carol Ann Dobson, Glen Malia and Karen Pressman. (Trustee Steve Rosen was absent).
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