CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- A Chesterfield mom is raising concerns after she says her first-grader was able to ride the bus home with another student without her permission.
Every afternoon Alexandra Mondrey picks up her 6-year-old daughter Nadiya from the bus stop.
However, one Friday in early January, Mondrey she said she got a bizarre phone call from a man who said he had her daughter.
The man told her he found out that his daughter and Nadiya decided that they wanted to have a sleepover after school.
As a result, the man said Nadiya jumped on his daughter's bus and was now with him.
Mondrey said she was able to meet the dad of her daughter's friend at a central location to be picked up.
Neither parent had any idea about what their children had planned, but Mondrey believes she should have been called by the school.
The situation left Mondrey stunned and thinking about the what-ifs of what could have happened.
“No one checked her bus tag," Mondrey said. "She just kind of slipped between the cracks. Anyone could have gotten on that bus. Anything could have occurred.”
Mondrey reached out to the CBS 6 Problem Solvers after she said felt she did not nothing was being done to prevent something similar from happening again.
She said school officials told her that the busing system in place had worked for years and called it a great system.
But Mondrey said she told administrators that system failed her daughter.
The school district's current policy is that a child can only change to a different bus if they have written permission from a parent. The school then has to approve it and a document of school approval must be shown to the bus driver.
CBS 6 reached out to the district to learn how this happened and if any changes will be made. The district spokesperson said they are looking into the matter and will communicate directly with the parent.
“There is really no solution that is being brought to me. They did explain to me this is a personnel issue..., but I have yet to see on my end if anything has changed,” she said.
Mondrey said she wants other parents to be aware of the situation as hopes for bigger changes.
"It's really concerning to me based on the safety and security of our children. Not just my own child, but every child in the community," Mondrey said. "Also, that we come up with something else that can work for these children because they are kindergartners — they are 5 and 6 years old — and they have absolutely no idea what is occurring."
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
