all right good afternoon uh my name is Dustin Howard I'm superintendent here at Clark County Public Schools um thank you guys for for coming out we're going to give a couple statements on kind of where we're at um want to introduce our coiner um couple board members Miss Hall Miss Richie our Sheriff I appreciate you guys being here with us um first first and foremost how are we doing we are we are hurting we are heartbroken we are managing the loss of a 15-year-old girl trying to support our family trying to support our staff our students the entirety of our community it is not supposed to be this way but here we are we have done everything in our power to reach out support the family from the time we found out we've tried to put strategic interventions in place um from transferring students that were on the bus to a different bus we had administrators meet them with counselors at the doors we made personal phone calls home uh to the nine students that were on the bus um again reached out to the family reached out to the bus driver um from there we've also provided support grief counselors our Administration or Ministerial Association done a wonderful job stepping up we've had volunteers we've had the entirety of the state of Kentucky frankly reach out and I just want to say uh thank you for the support uh we'll continue with strategic interventions um to support anyone that's having trouble um we've gotten word of of other folks driving by during the accident uh please have them reach out and contact us so we can get them the support that they need um we're only going to get through this together it is a very ha heavy lift I want to say some specific thank yous those of you who don't know the commissioner of Education drove from Frankfurt yesterday to be here at our high school to pray with us and our kids went to the bus garage he did not have to do that we've had superintendent staff from across the state of Kentucky Reach Out and give us their best wishes and prayers support folks ask what you can do what can we do my direction is simple I need folks to be a light I said it day one with our staff before this ever happened we have to be a light in this time of darkness and although one Light One Candle doesn't burn very bright we need everyone to support the family our school system our students and our community in a world in a time that it's very easy to be cynical and divisive to poke holes to put things on social media to be trolls frankly I'm asking you not to do that for this family for this school system for our kids and our community they deserve better and we we have to model that we have to be the light in this community so that we can get through this together we're not going to take a whole lot of questions but I want to make sure everyone understands the entirety of Clark County is going to wrap around this family this situation and again our kids we're here for them and that's what we're going to continue to focus on and we are going to be positive against this is a tragedy and I cannot say it enough time and our heart is breaking folks and for us to have the strength to get through this and I mean us we have to be in this together so please make that the focus this point forward because somebody is going to bury their 15-year-old daughter this week fact and the more what else we have going on in our lives I know I went home last night and I hugged my two a little tighter I was a little more appreciative of the sun coming up because every day is a gift from God and we have the choice of what we do with that and we can spend it tearing each other down or we can spend it lifting Folks up in times of need we don't shove people down we're not taught that way we may put our hand down but it's to lift people up and that's what I continue to do we continue to do we'll lead our staff to do is to support our fantastic and fine Community as we move forward again I appreciate your all's time um I'll be around there's any other questions uh so will these folks but I will not be able to comment specifically on the events as is an open investigation again thank you thank you for all the prayers and good wishes from across frankly the state and and the country Clark County needs you so keep those coming thank you God bless