For seven long months Broward school bus driver Rosanna Lucas waited for a phone call from her son.
Marine Michael Alfaro was serving in Afghanistan, on reconnaissance missions.
She took his call while driving her bus – and in return she got a five-day suspension.
“I tried to explain to them what happened but they don’t want to hear it. They said there’s rules we have to follow,” Lucas said.
Lucas received that call while she was driving on College Avenue in Davie, about a block away from the bus depot. There were no kids on the bus and she pulled the bus over in order to have the conversation. Despite that her supervisor suspended her anyway.
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Lucas' reprimand letter says she violated rule 25a, and was observed, on video, talking on the phone.
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The conversation was quick.
“He said ‘Mom I'm okay, we finished (our) mission, I love you and happy birthday, and that's it,” she recalled.
She said the call lasted just under two minutes.
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On Monday Broward school board members were set to uphold the weeklong suspension, but before the vote Superintendent of Schools Robert Runcie stepped in and spoke up.
“She has a son that is providing his service to our country,” Runcie told NBC 6. “We should provide some kind of compassion to her as they're making sacrifices. I think that's the least we can do.”
Lucas’ suspension has been postponed for now, but the matter is still being investigated. District officials are gathering more information and will decide how to proceed in the near future.
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