Frustrated parents are demanding answers after they say their children went on a field trip to the Miami-Dade County Fair on Tuesday and were then left behind.
Kindergarteners and first graders from Charles R. Drew K- 8 Center took a bus that morning to the fair, but at least three parents told NBC6 their child was not on the bus when it came back to school.
Latasha Jones said her son never made it back on the bus, and she found out because another parent called her.
“The school didn’t even contact me to let me know that my child was left at the fair,” Jones said. “I’m angry, I’m still angry.”
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When Jones got to the school, she said no one could tell her what happened.
“The principal basically didn’t give me no answers, just, 'we're going to deal with it.' No, I want answers,” Jones said.
Her 6-year-old son Jahkeam Moore said he was also confused.
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“I was nervous. Why were they gone?" Moore said.
The parent who called Jones said her child was also left at the fair.
"I was angry because you left not only my child, and you left small kids, and being that it's so many kids coming up missing, that was scary," said the parent, who didn't want to be shown on camera.
The parent said she was at the fair not as a chaperone, but to watch her child. She said a teacher handed Jones' child off to her. The mom said she ended up driving four children back to the school, including her son and Jones' son.
“I want them to be removed from the school," she said. "You left babies, they're 5 years old, had I not been there, they would have been left wandering around the park, anything could have happened to them."
Miami-Dade County Public Schools confirmed students were left at the fair and are working on finding out more information.
“Miami-Dade County Public Schools is deeply concerned to learn that several students from Charles R. Drew K-8 Center returned to their school from a field trip with a parent instead of their assigned bus," a spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday. "We are looking into the matter and will take appropriate action."
Officials with the fair also released a statement on the incident.
"The Miami-Dade County Fair & Exposition conducts an extensive sweep at the end of every field trip and at the end of every night, to ensure that no child or guest is left behind on the premises. No students were reported missing to either the fair or MDPD during or following today's field trip," the statement read.
Jones and several other parents said they want the school held accountable.
“I can't lose my child because of their negligence, it's unacceptable,” Jones said. “You didn’t even know who you left my child with, you just handed him off to be someone else's responsibility. When I signed that field trip form, he was supposed to stay with his teacher.”
