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Injured Polk School Bus Driver On Duty Again

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By BILLY TOWNSEND | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 21, 2007

BARTOW - Margie Conner is out of the shack and back on the bus.

But she's still not driving.

Conner is the 58-year-old Polk County school bus driver who injured both wrists in September and was assigned to a guard shack as temporary duty while she recovered. Conner says she was told to do nothing but sit alone in the tiny shack all day for several weeks while receiving her normal hourly pay. She was also driven about 20 miles per day back and forth to her home at school district expense.

School district officials say she was supposed to be available to help traffic entering the compound, but they haven't disputed Conner's claim that she wasn't told to do that and that virtually no one asked for help.

About a week after a Tampa Tribune story detailing her situation, the cast and splint on her wrists were removed and Conner received clearance from her doctor to return to bus work as an attendant. She's been working since then on buses taking children to and from several north Lakeland schools.

Conner said she faces about two months of physical therapy and hopes that she can return to driving in January. Conner said she's faced no reprisals for speaking out.

School officials told the Tribune that working inside the shack is a way for bus drivers who can't drive or work as attendants to continue getting a paycheck while they recuperate.

There are other examples of transitional duty, too. At the complex where Conner is stationed, an injured custodian has been monitoring the fuel depot, helping out where he can.

People return to work status faster, officials said, if they are assigned to transitional jobs.

However, Conner said the assignment made her feel like she was being punished for being hurt.

School officials could not be reached for comment on Conner's return to bus work.

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