One-year school suspensions were handed down Friday to four seventh-graders who were accused of bullying a bus monitor in Greece, N.Y., in a case that led to hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to the 68-year-old woman.
The Greece Central School District said the four boys and their parents agreed to the punishment, NBC station WHEC of Rochester reported.
The bullying was captured on video, posted on the Internet and triggered widespread outrage, but was followed by an effort to raise a little money to send Karen Klein on a nice vacation. That might turn out to be a real nice vacation: By Friday afternoon, the “Lets Give Karen – The bus monitor – H Klein A Vacation!” campaign on Indiegogo.com, a site devoted to raising money for various causes, had raised $667,000.
"This is definitely the highest-grossing and fastest-grossing campaign we've ever seen," Indiegogo.com spokesperson Rose Levy told msnbc.com last week.
WHEC reported that during the one-year suspension, each student will attend an alternative program at the district’s reengagement center. They will also be required to complete 50 hours of community service with senior citizens and will also have to complete a formal program in bullying prevention, respect and responsibility.
Donations for bullied bus monitor soar
The YouTube video that started it all emerged in the middle of last week. It goes on for 10 minutes and shows the four boys repeatedly harassing Klein on the last day of school.
All four students have since sent written apologies to Klein through the Greece Police Department. Klein has also met with some of their parents, but not the boys themselves.
This article includes reporting from NBC station WHEC of Rochester, N.Y., and msnbc.com staff.
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