Child Left On School Bus

by David Flint
A three year old child supposed to be attending Capital District Beginnings preschool in Berlin on Monday, April 16, was instead left on a bus alone for three hours. New York State Police reported that the bus, owned by Northland Transportation, dropped several students off at Capital District Beginnings in Berlin at approximately 9 am.  The child did not get off the bus and was not noticed by the driver or monitor. [private]The bus was left in a lot in Menands at 10 am and upon returning to the bus at 12:45 pm, the bus Monitor noticed the child still strapped in her car seat.
The next day, State Police out of Schodack arrested the driver of the bus, Eric Ramm, 31, of Cohoes, and Thomas Kottackal, 59, of Albany, the Monitor, for Endangering the Welfare of a Child.  Both subjects were charged with one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child and released on Appearance Tickets
The child received medical treatment at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center for mild dehydration.
Capital District Beginnings is an independent preschool located at 164 Green Hollow Road in Berlin. It has no connection with the Berlin School District which runs its own pre-k program at the Berlin Elementary School.
Rensselaer County spokesman Chuck Wojton said that the County Health Department contracts with Northland Transportation for transporting Capital District Beginnings children. He noted that Rensselaer County bids transportation per state law and County purchasing requirements for children to get to their pre-school program. “Our main concern right now,” he said, “is for the child who has been looked at by medical professionals and we believe the child suffered no physical harm. We have been in contact with the bus company and the pre-school program.  The Rensselaer County Health Department has conducted an investigation and believes the bus transportation company took appropriate action by terminating the employment of the company’s personnel who were responsible for leaving this child on the bus. We are reviewing what other procedures could be put into place to ensure this does not happen again such as additional communications between the pre-school program and parents when a child is not in school.”
In January 2009 the driver of a van owned by Folmsbee Transportation, also under County contract to transport Capital District Beginnings children, found herself stuck in a snow drift on the seasonal part of North Moore Hill Road in Stephentown, along with a Monitor and three young children. Communications failed necessitating a search by State Police and County Sheriff patrols. They were finally located after 7 pm by a State Police helicopter, a Folmsbee mechanic and a snowmobiler.[/private]