A school bus driver let a student hop off to rescue an injured kitten on a rural road, and after 11 years she’s been pulled from her route

Parents in Harford County, Maryland, are rallying behind a longtime school bus driver who was removed from her route. The driver allegedly let a student get off the bus to rescue an injured kitten, according to CBS. Cynthia Morgan, who drove students in the district for 11 years, said she is devastated by the decision.

Morgan was taken off her route this week and declined to speak on camera. Video recorded on Heaps School Road shows little traffic, a detail parents say matters as the road is rural and rarely busy. Harford County Public Schools said Morgan was employed by an independent contractor rather than the district, and it declined to comment on her specific situation.

The district is still responsible for certifying the drivers who transport its students. Cleary Inc., the company that employs bus drivers for Harford County Public Schools, had not responded to a request for comment when the report was published. Neither the company nor the district has explained the removal in detail.

Parents say they understand the safety concern but call the response excessive

Carolyn Kalambihis, whose children rode Morgan’s bus to North Harford Elementary School for five years, acknowledged the safety issue. “It’s definitely a concern for safety. There is no question that it was a mistake,” she said. Kalambihis added that she believes Morgan knows she made a mistake and should not have done it.

Parents say the location of the rescue matters. “We live in North Harford, so it’s very rural out here, off of Heaps School Road, a very low-traffic road,” Kalambihis said. “She wouldn’t have done it, let a child get off the bus to get a kitten if it was a more high-traffic road.” However, the district has not said whether road conditions factored into its decision.

Kalambihis described Morgan as “an angel” who buys school supplies for every child on the bus at the start of each school year. According to the parent, Morgan also pays for gifts at Christmas and other holidays and hands out birthday cards, all out of her own pocket. The children, Kalambihis said, looked forward to seeing her each day.

Kalambihis and other parents are circulating a petition calling for Morgan to return to her route, as they feel the situation was handled in a way that was “not appropriate.” The parent described the termination as “a little excessive, an overreaction.” She said the matter could have been handled in “a lot of other ways” and called it an overreaction by the transportation department.

A similar controversy unfolded in Wisconsin, where a Walmart employee was fired after 21 years of welcoming customers. Supporters say Kenneth Schmitz lost his job over a hug from a shopper, prompting calls for his reinstatement, boycott threats, and a GoFundMe campaign. Like Morgan, Schmitz had become a beloved figure in his community, with many questioning whether his dismissal was justified.

The district said in a statement that certification and decertification are not always based on a single factor and often involve multiple circumstances and requirements. It added that student safety remains its top priority. However, the district has not said whether Morgan will be allowed to return, as it declined to discuss her case, and it has not explained which factors led to her removal from the route.

Whether Morgan returns may depend on how the district and the contractor respond to the parents’ petition, and their answer could clarify how similar situations are handled for other drivers in the county.