Parent tells school board her niece was repeatedly dropped off at wrong stops and bus cameras weren’t recording

A parent told the Chesterfield County school board on April 8 that her young niece has been repeatedly dropped off at incorrect stops and that bus-camera footage that might have explained a prior police inquiry was not available.

At the public comment portion of the meeting, the speaker identified in the clerk’s list as Annette Mellet said her niece has been let off “at a bus stop that is not in our neighborhood” on multiple occasions and that, on at least one occasion, the child was dropped at a completely different stop and walked home.

“We tell her to get off the bus at her correct bus stop, and the bus driver refuses to let her get off the bus at her bus stop,” Mellet said. She said the family raised the matter with the school division and the Department of Transportation; when they requested recorded footage, Chesterfield County Police informed them “there was no acting cameras on this bus.”

Mellet said that uncertainty about the cameras and inconsistent enforcement of assigned stops is a safety concern because the child does not know neighbors in the locations where she has been dropped off and because some nearby residents are on a registry the family finds worrying.

“Once we get back, we'll review the footage on the bus,” Mellet said had been the promise, but “come to find out from Chesterfield County Police Department, there was no acting cameras on this bus,” she added.

Board members did not take action during public comment; staff present had earlier explained that in-person submissions are summarized in the minutes and that documents submitted with comments are available to the board on request. The clerk had told speakers that in-person comments are limited to four minutes and that online comments will be included in an addendum to the minutes.

The board’s public record from this meeting includes the speaker’s request and the clerk’s summary; the transcript does not include a staff response that evening about whether a follow-up investigation or operational change (for example, camera repair or additional routing enforcement) would be undertaken. The speaker asked the board to address the concern to prevent a possible safety incident.

Next procedural steps would typically include a staff follow-up or referral to transportation leadership; the board did not vote or direct a specific investigation on the record at the April 8 meeting.