Atlanta Schools bus driver faces disciplinary hearing

ATLANTA - Ernest Madden said he will not be silenced. He is the veteran bus driver who carried North Atlanta High School students back and forth.

When a few of those students acted up on his Buckhead bus route, including using drugs on the bus, Madden said he told his supervisors and turned in some discarded drug baggies he found on the bus to an assistant principal. 

Madden said that was three months ago. When he didn't see any action, the driver went public and warned on FOX 5 that well-behaved children were being intimidated by the drug users.

Ever since he gave that interview, Madden said he has been disciplined. First, Madden said he was told he could not drive and was reassigned to maintenance. School managers then summoned him to a disciplinary hearing on various charges, including providing information to FOX 5.

A spokesperson for the superintendent said the claims made by Madden were checked and shown to be without merit. The upcoming hearing follows school policy, according to that spokesperson.