APS bus driver: Kids are taking drugs on bus

ATLANTA - Students who attend one of Atlanta's most prestigious high schools get high on the school bus.

That is what Ernest Madden, a veteran driver, told FOX 5. The driver said he is going public because managers who were told weeks ago have done nothing. He also said he is tired of seeing intoxicated juniors and seniors engage in combative behavior that frightens the other youngsters.

After one trip in which Madden said he smelled drugs, he then checked the bus when the route was completed. On the floor, he said he found several tiny plastic bags, the kind used for small quantities of drugs.

Madden works directly under the school transportation division. He said he told his supervisors. He also said he turned in the bags he found with what he thinks may be drug residue. 

But the driver did not stop there. He said he went to the assistant principal at the high school, but he said his concerns fell on deaf ears. 

At school headquarters, a spokesperson confirmed Madden wrote incident reports on the purported activity. 

The spokesperson said an investigation was done, but the drug allegation proved to be unfounded. 

As for Madden, he has been given a transfer out of his normal bus route to a new location on the south side.