CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools shared new details on the bus driver arrested for DWI last week, but parents are still left with a lot of questions about what happened.
Sylvia Dollard, 70, was arrested last Thursday in northwest Charlotte after parents had to intervene to stop her alleged erratic driving in their neighborhood. Now, parents from a Huntersville school who complained about her driving before that incident want to know why she was allowed to keep driving after their complaints.
A group of Oakdale Elementary School parents stopped the bus, saying it was driving recklessly and skipping bus stops with their children on board. According to an arrest warrant, officers found an unlabeled pill bottle with several types of unknown pills in Dollard's purse. She then "performed poorly" during a field sobriety test, resulting in her arrest. An officer reported Dollard said she was not currently prescribed any medication.
"I could not believe they would let her drive and they would not consider our concerns or try to figure out what was going on," Ani Mercincavage said.
Mercincavage and other parents at Barnette Elementary School in Huntersville said they warned CMS about Dollard's behavior earlier that week. They allege families had school bus issues Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. On Wednesday, Barnette parents said it took Dollard about an hour to drop their children off after she kept missing turns and driving past their neighborhood, which is about four minutes from the school.
Mercincavage said after their complaints, the district changed their driver.
WCNC Charlotte confirmed the district transferred Dollard from Barnette to Oakdale on Thursday. Hours later, she was accused of driving while impaired.
"I think CMS, the people that work at transportation, definitely feel very bad about what happened there just needs to be more checks and balances with these drivers," Jen Allan, a Barnette Elementary parent said.
When WCNC Charlotte asked why Dollard was transferred and whether parent complaints were investigated, a CMS spokesperson issued the following statement:
"The bus driver's bus route was modified by the transportation department due to a timing issue that resulted in the bus running late when there was traffic. As a result, the Barnette bus route was reassigned to another driver."
"It just didn't make any sense why all of a sudden it became a timing issue when she was actually on our bus route [Thursday] morning," Allan said.
CMS added that Dollard's routes were changed to "address late arrival and drop off concerns from parents," but parents said that doesn't address their concerns about her missing turns and bus stops.
Allan said she wants the district to take parent complaints more seriously.
"I would love for them to just, at least instead of blaming it on something else, just take responsibility and say we're sorry, we're going to do better," she said.
WCNC Charlotte obtained Dollard's personnel records, which show she was suspended one other time in October 2022, but it's unclear why. She is currently suspended with pay and faces 21 counts of child abuse on top of DWI.
Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.