Bus Driver's Hearing Continues Wednesday

A hearing on the disciplinary charges lodged against an East Hampton School District bus driver will continue on Wednesday at the district office.

Christine Vorpahl's hearing began on Tuesday, but got off to a bit of a late start after attorneys spent an hour in legal arguments with hearing officer Tom Volz. Vorpahl was suspended back in February, along with four other transportation department employees. She opted to have a hearing on the charges in public.

Following opening statements, the school district's attorney, Kevin Seaman, "blamed Vorpahl for the ills of the transportation department and flawed paperwork," according to Thomas W. Horn, Vorpahl's attorney.

Horn called the district's busing facility overcrowded and unsafe, leading to low morale and high tension among employees.

Seaman said that he has 17 witnesses ready to testify against Vorpahl. One witness, Bella Warren, who once worked as the secretary at the bus facility, completed her testimony.

Lawrence Kelly, an attorney working with Horn, cross-examined Warren, during which she admitted to sending an anonymous letter in April of 2011, Horn said. "In the letter she claimed as fact things she had only heard as rumor," he said. "The letter is critical of the school board and most everyone who was in a supervisory role."

Richard Burns, the superintendent of the school, also testified, and under cross-examination he revealed that he kept notes of interviews with 15 alleged witnesses, Horn said. He requested to review those notes before proceeding, which was granted.

The hearing resumes at on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m.

The hearing for the other bus driver, Dawn Gallagher, was supposed to begin on Wednesday, but has not yet been rescheduled. Horn is also representing her.