ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County Public School buses are usually kept inside a fenced compound when they aren’t being used to take children to and from school.
The compound protects the buses, which are paid for with taxpayer money.
But WFTV reporter Lori Brown discovered that some drivers are parking the buses outside the compound – and some are even using them to drive to and from work.
Brown found one bus parked, unlocked, in a church parking lot. She also discovered that another bus driver, Yvonne Rodriguez, said that she drives her assigned bus to and from her job.
Rodriguez said she had special permission to drive the bus to work.
"If I don't have permission, I don't do it," Rodriguez said.
Brown got mixed reaction from Orange County Public Schools about the practice.
"There is never a time when it would be appropriate to park a bus at a second job," said OCPS spokeswoman Kathy Marsh.
But OCPS Senior Director of Transportation Jim Beekman said in a prepared statement that some drivers are allowed to park outside the district’s compound if it saves the district money.
"This year we have some that have met that requirement and have gained approval to park at locations other than the bus compound that they park in at night,’’ Beekman said. “… The savings this year has been over $52,800 to the department."
WFTV requested a list of the buses allowed to park outside the compound to see if the buses Brown found were on it. The district said it could take up to 10 days to get that information.