MATTAWAN – A former Mattawan school bus driver is suing the Mattawan Consolidated School District, alleging that she was wrongfully terminated after passing out holiday candy bags to students on her school bus, some of which contained religious messages.
A 12-page complaint was filed with the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan last December. Documents allege that Mattawan Consolidated School bus driver, Sarah Robinson, was fired last April, following a few occasions where she gave out candy bags to students ahead of holidays such as Halloween and Christmas.
Robinson has said she was representing herself in the lawsuit. She received some attorney help in drafting the document.
In the complaint, Robinson said holiday bags were given out during the 2024-2025 school year. Brief Christian messages were contained in some of the bags while others did not have messages. She said that students were not pressured to take the gift bags and were told they could decline.
The complaint further states that in November 2024, Robinson’s supervisor said she could continue passing out the bags if it was optional. In January last year, Superintendent Randy Fleenor reversed the guidance, according to the suit.
The lawsuit claims that bus camera footage was not reviewed and stressed that the gift bags were voluntary and that parents were present at the time.
According to the lawsuit, students were not required to take bags, and Robinson offered bags that accommodated other religions or did not include religious messages.
Wednesday, February 11, 2026
