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Jackie Miller resigned from her job as a school bus driver while gaining national support after a viral video showed her shouting at students.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The video of former Amherst bus driver Jackie Miller shouting at students after she said she was fed up with a group of disrespectful kids went viral and captured national attention.

Now, the GoFundMe campaign started on her behalf has raised more than $108,000 as of Tuesday night.

"I'm nobody, I'm just a little old granny bus driver and these people doing this for me is amazing," Miller said.

Jeff Grob from Vermilion created the fundraiser. The two were strangers at the time.

"We've had some problems on our bus with our own little kids who are 7 and 8, so I just saw this as an opportunity to bring light to the bigger problem," Grob said. "We’re small communities, but we’re strong communities and we stick together."

Many supporters that have donated to her cause said they understood her frustration and would have done the same.

"Every day you see horrible things and something like this happens, and it just restores your faith that there are so many wonderful people out there," Miller said.

Mistakes on the Lake Apparel Company in Vermilion created a shirt in her honor. The owner, Jacqui Adkins, told 3News' Bri Buckley they have sold more than 5,000 T-shirts so far with $5 from each sale going back to Miller.

But not everyone agrees with Miller's choice words and behavior. Marie Marie commented on WKYC's Facebook post: "Glad this completely unfit medically and mentally person is no longer employed by that district and should no longer be allowed around any children as she presents an emotionally irrational exhibition of behavior."

On Twitter, David DeBalko said, "She should retire. Asap. Or be fired asap. One cannot expect kids to "know" your asthma triggers are. Video was violent attack on kids. Fire this woman!"

Miller said she understands why people are upset.

"Oh, I don't agree with the language I used either. I really do regret that, but like I said before, I won't take a word of that back," Miller said. "There are people out there that are angry, and I understand if the shoe were on the other foot I would be, too, until I found out exactly what had happened."

She told 3News she's hopeful a different message will resonate from the whole incident that will continue to spark dialogue for meaningful change.

"I hope, I pray that that's the message," Miller said. "That parents will stand up and say, 'OK. This has to stop, I have to change the way I'm working with my kids and teach them something different, teach them how to respect, give them this moral compass so they can become responsible adults.'"

Miller said she plans to save majority of the funds for her retirement and will use some of the money to travel with her husband.

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From previous coverage of this story:

The Ohio Education Association announced that Gahanna-Jefferson Education Association member Mark Lowrie, a former teacher at Marion L. Steele High School in Amherst, was named 2024 Ohio Teacher of the Year on Sept. 7, according to a news release.

“Mr. Lowrie demonstrates clearly why public education matters so much in Ohio,” said Scott DiMauro, president of the Ohio Education Association, in the release. “Great public schools open a world of opportunities for students from all walks of life, and exceptional educators like Mr. Lowrie make that possible.

“His dedication to building outstanding broadcast journalism programs for his students — in both his current role at Gahanna Lincoln High School and previously at Marion L. Steele High School in Amherst — exemplifies the incredible work Ohio’s public educators do every day to help their students learn valuable life skills so they can follow their dreams.

“Mr. Lowrie’s students over the past two decades are so lucky that he followed his own dream and found his calling in the classroom.”

Lowrie worked for 12 years in the broadcast television industry before returning to school to earn his master’s degree in education to become a teacher, according to the release.

He then spent 18 years in Amherst Schools before moving to Gahanna Lincoln High School four years ago.

The live newscasts he produces with his broadcast journalism students have earned many honors, including three National Student Production Awards in 2022 alone, according to the release.

“The award-winning broadcast journalism programs that Mr. Lowrie has built over the years are a testament to his expertise in the field — not only from his valuable experience in his first career, but even more importantly from his commitment to embracing opportunities for professional growth and innovation in his career as an educator,” DiMauro continued in the release. “Mr. Lowrie’s passion for education and for serving his students should be applauded.

“Being named 2024 Ohio Teacher of the Year is a very well-deserved recognition for Mark Lowrie.”

The Ohio Education Association represents approximately 120,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals who work in Ohio’s schools, colleges and universities to help improve public education and the lives of Ohio’s children, according to the release.

***The video above is from a previous report.***

LORAIN COUNTY, Ohio (WJW) — From the sunglasses to showing off his ziplining skills, Tucker Jones, of Amherst, is one of the coolest, funniest kids you’ll ever meet.

At six years old, Tucker is the epitome of ‘business in the front, party in the back.’

His love of 90s country music, bad haircuts during COVID and his best friend were all contributing factors to him growing his ginger locks into a full mullet.

His mom, Tara, said he stopped cutting the back two years ago.

“Four years old, and I mean, the older best friend really helped,” he said. “He had the mullet and now I want a mullet, and these guys on my iPad have mullets, and it just kind of became a thing.”

It became so much of a thing that his love of the throwback do has catapulted him into the national spotlight.

Thanks to community support and plenty of votes, he recently made it to the final round of the USA Mullet Championship.

He’s now the only Ohio boy among the 25 remaining contestants.

“We were in the pool so of course, I went right down to the bottom and jumped back up and yelled, YEAH,” he previously told FOX 8 when he made to the top 100.

When he’s not spending time at the barbershop, he loves riding his bike and honing his quarterback skills. He’s a QB on a summer league team.

Now he’s hoping be crowned ‘Best Kid Mullet’ in the country, but he needs your vote to make it happen.

“People know Tucker, they know his mullet,” said his mom. “He’s not ashamed of it. He loves it, he owns it, I guess, and so here we are, letting him have a platform to be himself.”

Tucker hopes to win the top prize of $5,000 and a four-wheeler. His mom said the money will be put away into a college fund.

Voting will be open August 7-11. To vote for Tucker, click here.

Jackie Miller has resigned from her job as a school bus driver while gaining support after a viral video showed her shouting at students.

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AMHERST, Ohio — Former Amherst school bus driver Jackie Miller has become the subject of national headlines after a viral video was recently shared across social media that showed her using profanities while shouting at students.

Now, a GoFundMe campaign that was launched to provide her with support has raised more than $107,000 as of 12:15 p.m. Tuesday.

"Bus drivers, teachers and janitors are the hardest working people and a huge influence on our children," the GoFundMe campaign declares. "Yet they continue to be underpaid and under appreciated. Kids these days are out of control and no one is allowed to reprimand them in fear of losing their job."

The fundraising effort, which comes after Miller resigned from her job as a bus driver, says the money will be used to help her pay for some time off.

Late last month, Amherst Superintendent Mike Molnar tells 3News he sent the following letter to parents to alert them of the district's investigation of the incident:

Dear Amherst Parents,

This evening, I received a video circulating on social media of a bus driver using inappropriate and offensive language towards students. The behavior exhibited by the bus driver is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. I have accepted the bus driver's resignation effective immediately and the incident will be fully investigated. The actions of the bus driver do not represent the values and standards we uphold as a district and do not reflect our commitment to providing a safe, caring, and compassionate educational environment.

Moving forward, our Transportation Department will review its procedures to make sure we are handling situations appropriately for the safety of our students. The district will also continue to support our bus drivers with proper training and professional development.

As Superintendent, I will continue to focus my energy and efforts on creating a positive and safe environment for all students and staff. I believe that open communication and constructive feedback from our community help us create a stronger and more supportive environment. Thank you.

SUBSCRIBE: Get the day's top local and national headlines sent to your email inbox each weekday morning with 3News to GO! newsletter

Molnar later told 3News that multiple students have been disciplined, but he did not specify how many students, what they are being disciplined for or what those disciplinary actions are.

Miller, meanwhile, told her side of the story in an interview with 3News' Bri Buckley. She said a group of kids were constantly acting out, purposefully instigating her for the last two years -- and she finally had enough.

"I'm sorry for the way this went down, I truly am," Miller said. "I do apologize for my actions, but I won't take it back."

You can see more of our interview with Miller in the video below:

One of the comments Miller said in the bus video has also been put on a T-shirt, which Mistakes on the Lake is now selling for $25. We're told $5 of each shirt will be donated to Miller.

"There's just no words to say how grateful that I am for the people who have supported me," Miller told 3News. "It restores your faith in humanity. It makes you think that not all people are bad, that there's really good people in the world."

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Nestled away at 1119 Milan Ave., just west of historic downtown, sits the KTM North America Inc., home of the sole distribution center for all of the United States, Canada and Mexico, for the motorcycle giant.

The company, an internationally based racing bike organization headquartered in Austria, moved to the town of Amherst in since the 1990s with the intention to bring new jobs to the area. Since then, the company, while having its ups and downs, has continued to make its home in the small town. Now in 2023, the center hopes to once again expand, bringing with it upwards of a 100 jobs total to the center.

“KTM first had a building expansion in 2007, but shortly after that we fell into a financial crisis,” says Paul Nixon, director of operations for the company. “We had to do some downsizing and moved corporate offices, but after some time we started growing once more.”

Nixon, who has been with the company for the past 21 years, says that KTM saw their output at the center begin doubling in 2018, causing the company to start looking into adding another expansion to the existing building.

“We basically went from a $45 million revenue operation from 2007 to 2017, to now an over $90 million in the past four years and in order to continue hitting those high numbers, we will need more people and more space,” Dixon says.

The expansion, which is set to include pushing the building further West and North, was proposed to Amherst City Council April 3, with hopes that if passed, construction can start immediately.

The addition to the building calls for new storage rack space to hold additional parts so that the company would not have to rely on offsite centers to hold their products.

“This expansion should bring in upwards to 100 positions total at our center which is really good for the local area to be able to add these jobs,” says Nixon. “It will also cut down on the input traffic to the area, because less trucks will be coming in with new parts for us to use while distributing these motorcycles.”

If approved, Nixon says the company is ready to get to work right away and have the project finished before the end of the calendar year. The expansions also will not cut into city rideaways or housing areas.

“We hope that this project will bring new and exciting opportunities to the Amherst area, as well as help our company continue to expand,” says Nixon.

The final ordinance for the expansion will go before City Council April 10 and if passed, construction in the area is set to begin soon after.