Article published Jul 29, 2005 Bus driver suspended, transferred for fighting with students PUNTA GORDA, Fla. A school bus driver whose fight with two students was caught on videotape and broadcast nationwide will be suspended for 20 days and moved to another job in the school district, officials said. The Charlotte County school board approved the action Thursday against Albert Taylor, 66. Taylor fought on his bus with stepbrothers Mark Ernest Dickson, 15, and Corey Gene Hendershot, 13, on May 17 when he told one of the boys to put on his seat belt and Dickson stood up and cursed him. Taylor slapped Dickson in the face and grabbed his throat, the bus video showed. Dickinson is seen on the video pushing and punching the bus driver. Taylor was charged with misdemeanor battery against the boys. On Wednesday he accepted a pretrial diversion contract that will see the charges dropped if he stays out of legal trouble for the next three months. The boys were arrested for felony assault on a school official, but no charges were filed. They are still facing consequences at school, but officials would not comment on specifics. Taylor and Dickson apologized to each other during a meeting earlier this week, school officials said. Taylor had been described by friends as a kind and gentle man who had been under stress since his house was destroyed by Hurricane Charley last summer. "This incident is embedded in the aftermath of an intense, storm-laden school year," Superintendent Dave Gayler said Thursday. "And while that is not a reason to excuse behavior, our investigation has indicated that were it not for the hurricane and the stressors put on our families and our employees, this incident most likely would not have occurred." http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050729/APN/507290780 Back To Guvment Skool Page 8 COPYRIGHT "DUHMAG.COM" 2005