PETA joins push to reinstate Harford County bus driver fired after kitten rescue

PETA is joining the push to get a longtime Harford County school bus driver reinstated after she was fired for allegedly allowing a student to get off the bus to rescue an injured kitten.

In a letter to the Harford County Board of Education, the animal rights advocacy group urged the district to reinstate Cynthia Morgan, praising her for what it called an act of compassion.

"Schools routinely say they want students to become caring, engaged citizens," PETA wrote. "It would be a peculiar civics lesson indeed to punish the adult who allowed a child to act on those values, and to suggest that looking away would have been the better option."

PETA added, "We urge the Board to review this matter promptly and allow Ms. Morgan to return to her route. Student safety and compassion are not rival electives. Harford County's children deserve adults who can model both."

Thousands of people have signed a petition calling for Morgan to get her job back.

Parent describes bus driver as caring and compassionate

Carolyn Kalambihis, a parent whose children ride Morgan's bus, told CBS News Baltimore that Morgan regularly goes out of her way to make students feel special.

"She is an angel. She is the most caring person," Kalambihis said. "Every year at the beginning of the school year she buys every child on the bus school supplies. She buys them gifts for Christmas, every holiday, and birthdays; she gives them birthday cards, all out of her own pocket. She just does it because it makes her feel good."

Video recorded on Heaps School Road shows little traffic on the rural road where the incident happened. Kalambihis said the road's conditions are an important part of the circumstances surrounding the incident.

"We live in North Harford, so it's very rural out here, off of Heaps School Road, a very low-traffic road," Kalambihis said. "She wouldn't have done it, let a child get off the bus to get a kitten if it was a more high-traffic road."

School district says student safety remains top priority

Harford County Public Schools said Morgan worked for an independent contractor, not directly for the school district. However, the district is responsible for certifying drivers who transport students to its schools.

In a statement to CBS News Baltimore, the district said certification and decertification decisions can involve multiple factors.

"Certification and decertification are not always based on a single factor but often involve consideration of multiple circumstances and requirements…. Student safety remains our top priority, and all certification decisions are made with that responsibility in mind," the district said.

Kalambihis acknowledged the potential safety risks of allowing a student off the bus but said she believes Morgan understands that doing so was a mistake. She does not believe the incident warranted firing the longtime driver.

"It's definitely a concern for safety. There is no question that it was a mistake," Kalambihis said. "It shouldn't have happened. I believe she knows that and understands, and looking back, knows she made a mistake and should not have done what she did."