OKC mother outraged after daughter left behind on school field trip

An Oklahoma City mother is demanding accountability after her 7-year-old daughter was left behind during a school field trip to the zoo.

Lynda Buntich says her daughter, a student at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary, was excited to join the school's annual walk to the Oklahoma City Zoo on the last day of school.

“This is something they do every year. The whole school walks there and back,” Buntich said.

But when the school texted parents around 1 p.m. to pick up their children, Buntich assumed her daughter was back on campus. She later received a call from another parent, informing her that her daughter was still at the zoo.

“I don’t know this parent, and they don’t know me,” Buntich said. “She didn’t even know my name.”

Buntich immediately alerted the school and was shocked to learn they didn’t realize her daughter was missing.

“They had no idea where my child was for an hour and a half,” she said.

She later found out that a teacher had allowed her daughter to stay behind with another student and that student’s parent, without Buntich’s permission.

“There were just a lot of balls that were dropped,” she said. “A little accountability, but a lot of excuses.”

Oklahoma City Public Schools released this statement about the incident.

“On the last day of school, OKCPS leaders were notified that an MLK Elementary student had not returned to the school at the conclusion of a school-wide field trip to the OKC Zoo. Upon receiving a call from the student’s parent, the school’s front office promptly confirmed that the student was safe and under the supervision of another classmate’s parent, who had been chaperoning both children during the field trip. The Assistant Principal immediately coordinated the student’s safe return to the school.”

Buntich says she’s grateful her daughter is okay, and the district is taking responsibility.

“I just don’t want this to happen to any other child,” Buntich said. “And I also want to make sure district-wide policies get put in place and consequences come for breaking those policies, especially when it comes to the safety of our children.”

OKCPS also stated:

“The safety and well-being of our students remains our top priority. We are in close communication with the student’s family and providing them with support. In addition, we are reviewing our field trip policies and procedures to reinforce our commitment to student safety.”