What started as a few racist handwritten words on a school bus window has now cost a longtime Pennsylvania bus driver her job and pushed a quiet rural district into a national conversation about language and equality.
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Diane Crawford, 66, says she never expected the sign she posted to be read as racist. After decades behind the wheel, Crawford says her intention was discipline, not discrimination. The sign read, “Out of respect to English-only students, there will be NO speaking Spanish on this bus,” and it was aimed, she claims, at stopping bullying she could not understand.
“I didn’t mean to be racially insensitive or anything like that,” Crawford told Local 21 News as she wiped away tears. She explained that she believed one bilingual student was using Spanish to harass others on the bus, leaving her unable to intervene.
Looking back, Crawford admits the wording was a mistake.
“Maybe I should have worded it differently,” she said.
Crawford recalled hearing the word “Gordo,” which means “fat,” and feeling alarmed.
“I didn’t know if he was bullying somebody, telling them to do something that they shouldn’t do,” she said. “I thought I heard him saying ‘Gordo’ and I don’t know who he was talking to.”
The backlash was swift. The night after the sign appeared, Crawford says she received a call notifying her that her contract had been terminated. She owned the bus and worked as a subcontractor through Rohrer Bus for the Juniata County School District.
“I think I just instantly went into shock,” she said. Since then, Crawford says she has gone on Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP benefits, and has begun taking antidepressants. “I had to go on antidepressants because of this.”
District officials said the decision came quickly after Crawford admitted to writing the sign, emphasizing their commitment to a safe and inclusive environment for students.
