School bus monitor taunted in video to retire

GREECE -- A school bus monitor who was shown in a video being relentlessly bullied by a group of boys said Friday she will retire.

Karen Klein, a 68-year-old grandmother, told The Associated Press that the decision to leave the job she held for three years was tough but wasn't based on her now-infamous encounter with the seventh-graders, who tormented her with profanity, insults and threats during a bus run in June.

A 10-minute cellphone video of the episode, posted online, went viral.

"I'm not quitting because of what happened. That's not it," Klein said from her home in the Rochester suburb of Greece. "I enjoyed working with the kids. But I guess it's my time to leave."

Although her mind is made up, she said she has yet to submit the paperwork that would make her retirement official.

Before becoming an aide, Klein drove a school bus for 20 years.

She said she will keep busy in retirement, perhaps volunteering with groups that help people affected by bullying or suicide.

The video shows Klein trying her best to ignore the abuse.

The Greece school district has suspended the four students for a year.

A Toronto man was so moved by Klein's story that he started an online campaign with the goal of raising $5,000 to send her on a vacation. The fundraising site Indiegogo listed the total amount raised at $703,833. -- AP