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Albert Lea bus driver fired for alleged racist comment

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Oct 24, 2011 at 10:44 am

ALBERT LEA, Minn. (AP) — A bus driver for the Albert Lea School District has been fired after a disputed incident in which two kids accused him of making a racist comment.

Steven Jannings is an executive with Agnes Corp., which owns Albert Lea Bus Co. He says the driver's conduct wasn't up to the company's standards.

Two 11-year-old passengers reported that a student wasn't staying seated, and the driver yelled, "Hey, black kid, get your (butt) up here." The kids say at least a third of the students began chanting, "Racist!" An Albert Lea Tribune report says the driver called police.

Jannings says the students' recollection wasn't entirely accurate. He says part of it was true but it wasn't stated that way.

Company and school officials declined to release video from the bus.