A Maryland bus driver and her only passenger, a 10-year-old boy, teamed up to save a kitten. She lost her job as a result of the good deed.
Cynthia Morgan has been a bus driver for Harford County Public Schools for the last 11 years. That long history of dedicated service came to an abrupt end after a simple act of kindness.
On Thursday, October 1st, Cynthia was driving her bus route. At the time, the only student on the bus was 10-year-old Alex Thomas.
As the pair traveled along the route, they noticed a small kitten on the side of the road. The kitten was all alone and seemed lost and scared. Cynthia and Alex decided that they could not drive on and leave the kitten to its fate.
Cynthia made a quick decision that would ultimately lead to her losing her job. She pulled the bus over and asked Alex if he would mind getting the kitten for her on the rural road. Alex, who was also invested in the kitten's safety, readily agreed and in seconds was back in the bus with the kitten.
Cynthia continued on her route while Alex held the baby kitten. She dropped Alex off at school before taking her new best friend home.
Having done a good deed, all that was left was for Cynthia to pay the price. School staff later became aware of the incident while reviewing footage from an onboard camera.
Cynthia was terminated from her position on October 8th. Once parents and community members learned of Cynthia's termination, they began to push back against what they felt was an unjust descion.
Even Alex's mother has voiced strong support for Cynthia, saying that Alex would have been devastated had they not rescued the kitten. Community members launched a petition that now has over three thousand signatures demanding Cynthia's reinstatement!
In light of the community pushback, the school has released a statement. In the statement, they contended that Cynthia's termination was not the result of one small incident but rather multiple incidents over a period of time. They added that Cynthia was employed through a third-party contractor.
When that third party contractor was asked about the termination, they simply referred the issue back to the school. They never said anything about any other complaints.
Cynthia is still unemployed and the community is stunned. Several parents came forward and said their children loved Cynthia and looked forward to seeing her when they got on the bus and they do not believe that she ever had any other complaints. They said she was nothing but kind when they dealt with her and they didn't have any complaints about her as a bus driver.
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