LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Las Vegas father is demanding accountability after he said his daughter was mistakenly put on a Clark County School District school bus.
Rafael Leyva 's daughter Melanie is his entire world.
"That’s my only child,” said Leyva.” She’s only 5 years old."
When his sister told him Melanie wasn’t outside school waiting to be picked up on the Friday before Labor Day, he called everyone he could think of.
“Finally, the third call I make to the school they told me 'sorry sir your daughter has been lost',” he said. ”We misplaced your daughter.”
He asked to speak to the principal, but Leyva said he got the runaround. 13 Action News reached out to CCSD. A spokesperson emailed us this statement,
"After learning about the incident, the school staff quickly worked to ensure the child's safety and communicated with the student's family to address any concerns. Measures have been taken to prevent an incident like this from reoccurring. "
Leyva said he eventually learned that a substitute teacher told his daughter to get on a school bus even though the family lives less than two miles away from the school. He was reunited with his daughter, but not before he says the principal called CCSD police.
"She agreed to see me with school police present because she felt threatened by me and she felt intimidated by me.”
CCSD confirmed writing in a statement,
"During interactions with adults involved, administration contacted CCSD Police to ensure the safety of students and staff on-site due to a disturbance that resulted from the matter."
But Leyva said it didn't end there. He received a surprise the very next day.
"The officer manager from the school comes to me and tells me the principal is sending you this letter. I got surprised thinking it was an apology letter,” he said.
It wasn’t an apology. The letter, written and signed by the school's principal, said Leyva threatened school employees and that he was no longer allowed on campus to pick up his daughter or for any school activities.
“I never raised my voice. I never raised my hands to try and scare anybody,” said Leyva. “I was demanding answers.”
Leyva said school officials still never told him exactly where his daughter was dropped off, only that it was near an apartment complex. As a result he said he has transferred his daughter to another school in the district.
