Bus Driver Hearings to Pick up Next Week

A hearing for a suspended bus driver continued last week, though according to the employee's lawyer – who said last week's hearing was "rather uneventful" – testimonies won't pick back up until next week.

Christine Vorphal, according to East Hampton School District officials, promoted a culture of bullying at the school bus yard, favoring some employees for overtime runs while knitting and surfing the internet at work. She and Dawn Gallagher are both suspended, with Gallagher's hearing taking place after Vorphal's.

Lawyer Thomas Horn, who represents them both, stated previously that the charges were "vague and overblown" and noted on Monday that last week's continuation – which saw three witnesses for the district, all bus drivers – still left questions to be answered about the charges against Vorphal.

"So far, their witnesses – particularly the last three – have been particularly flawed in that they have gone nowhere near proving the charges against my client," he said. Horn said that while the employees all worked with Vorphal previously, no one had ever filed a formal complaint during their tenure together.

"If nobody complained about anything to anybody, how did it become a problem?"

Kevin Seaman, the attorney representing the school district, noted in his opening statements, according to the East Hampton Star, that Vorphal contributed to a "Lord of the Flies, renegade colony" at the bus shelter. Attempts to reach Seaman at his Stony Brook office have been unsuccessful.

Horn has yet to finish a cross-examination of East Hampton Superintendent Richard Burns, who testified during the first two days. 

The hearing is expected to continue on May 15.