A Pennsylvania woman says she was forced to get food assistance benefits after being fired from her job as a school bus driver over a “racially insensitive” sign.
Diane Crawford, 66, told WHP-TV that she put up the sign because she thought it would help stop bullying on her bus.
‘I don’t know what else to do. I’m on Medicare and Medicaid now and SNAP. … I had to go on antidepressants because of this.’
“Out of respect to English-only students, there will be no speaking Spanish on this bus,” the note read.
Crawford worked for the Juniata County School District as a bus driver for three decades, including the last 12 years when she became a self-employed owner and operator.
She says her supervisor called her over the note and canceled the contract.
“I don’t know what else to do. I’m on Medicare and Medicaid now and SNAP,” Crawford said. “I had to go on antidepressants because of this.”
She also claims that she wasn’t allowed to explain why she wrote the note. It was meant as a warning to a bilingual child who had been riling up students in Spanish, according to Crawford. She suggested the student was bullying her as well as the other students.
“I didn’t know if he was bullying somebody, telling them to do something that they shouldn’t do,” Crawford said. “I thought I heard him saying, ‘Gordo,’ and — I understand some of (the words) — I don’t know who he was talking to, but I assume he is directing at me.”
“Gordo” in Spanish means “fat.”
She has filed a lawsuit asking for $30,000 for the bus and the route she purchased in 2024.
“I would like them to admit that they were wrong,” she added. “I don’t want to be in debt because what they did was wrong.”
On Sunday, U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said her office was investigating the incident.
“This is deeply concerning. I have directed [the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ] to open an investigation into this situation implicating DEI wokeness,” she posted on social media.
RELATED: Activists rage over racist vandalism at a high school. The district says a black student was caught committing the hoax.
The school district and Rohrer Bus Service released a statement to address the incident.
“Following the incident in question, the District and Rohrer jointly reviewed the situation in accordance with established procedures,” the joint statement reads. “The investigation concluded after the subcontractor provided a written admission confirming that the signage had been installed on her bus. At that point, the relevant facts of the situation were fully known and discussed among District and Rohrer leadership.”
They said they determined Crawford had violated the “standards and expectations” for drivers and expressed a commitment to providing a “safe and inclusive transportation environment” for all students.
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