FOUR STUDENTS who were filmed verbally accosting a female bus monitor in Greece, New York have been suspended from school and ordered to serve 50 hours of community service.

Videos from the incident show Karen Klein, 68, being called names and berated as she sits on the bus. At one point she breaks down in tears and addresses the students, saying, “Unless you have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

A campaign was subsequently launched on Indiegogo to raise funds in support of Klein and to send her on “a vacation of a lifetime”. The campaigners initially aimed to raise $5,000 and have so far raised over $670,000.

(Video credit: CapitalTrigga)

Four students have suspended for a year in connection with the incident. They will also be required to carry out 50 hours of community service with senior citizens and will have to participate in a bullying prevention programme.

Meanwhile, Klein and her family have appealed to the public to stop bullying and taunting the children involved in the incident.

“Threatening them? No, that’s not the way to go about things, ” she told the AP. “They’re just kids. I don’t want to judge anybody or put them in jail or anything like that. I just want them to learn a lesson.”

Earlier this week, Klein was presented with an honorary school bus monitor certificate in Boston.

- Additional reporting by the AP