Bullied bus monitor: Marines have her back; Disneyland in future

The outpouring of emotion and cash in the case of bullied bus monitor Karen Klein may be peaking. Nearly half a million dollars have been raised for her “vacation� fund, she’s appeared on “Anderson Cooper,� and some U.S. Marines have created a video to show their support.

The video from Marines at Fort Meade in Maryland declares the corps’ intolerance for hazing and bullying and gives the 68-year-old grandmother, the recent target of abuse by students in upstate New York, a heartfelt “Oorah!�

The video of Klein being taunted on a schoolbus went viral, drawing millions of views.

The social-media fundraising effort for Klein, which rolled out on the Indiegogo website, has 29 days left in which to accept contributions. The fund had reached $491,186 as of 8:15 a.m. Friday. The goal of $5,000 was left in the dust soon after the campaign was launched.

The students who made the comments have been heaped with scorn -- on social media, among celebrities (Ryan Seacrest tweeted “no one should have to endure something like this�) and in mainstream media.

The New York Daily News referred to statements of apology from two of the children, released through police, as “lukewarm.�

Here are the apologies from two of the four kids:

“I am so sorry for the way I treated you. When I saw that video I was disgusted and could not believe I did that.�

“I feel really bad about what I did. I wish I had never done those things. If that had happened to someone in my family, like my mother or grandmother, I would be really mad at the people who did that to them.�

Some on social media have been tempered in their comments; others are demanding immediate punishment, castigating the kids’ parents as well as the school district.

Athena Middle School in Greece, N.Y., has responded with a statement saying, essentially, that angry parties cannot ride the kids out of town on a rail.

“Discipline for public school students in New York state is handled under specific procedures set forth in the New York education law. In the event that a district is seeking a suspension of more than five days, the district must prove the student’s violation of its code of conduct in a due process hearing before a hearing officer. If the student is found guilty, the hearing officer makes a recommendation for an appropriate period of suspension to the superintendent of schools. Each case is determined based upon the actions engaged in by the student as well as consideration of a student’s prior disciplinary record.�

One parenting expert told the Los Angeles Times that punishing the kids would not be the best approach.

Jane Nelson, co-author of two dozen parenting books including the “Positive Discipline� series, said that yelling, shaming, hitting, grounding and other forms of punishment would be counterproductive.

“I think to go after these kids in a punitive way, it just doesn’t help,� she said.

Many would disagree. But Klein, in an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Thursday night, said she didn’t believe the kids were bad “deep down.� She did say she’d like them suspended from riding the school bus and from sports for at least a year.

Klein was skeptical about whether she’d ever actually receive the huge pot of money from the current fundraiser. She said it just seemed “too good to be true.�

Finally, Cooper popped the surprise that Southwest Airlines was going to pay for her and nine of her family or friends to go to Disneyland for three nights.

[For the record, 10:21 a.m. June 22: An earlier version of this post referred to “booyah.� The Marine battle cry “oorah� has been substituted. Thanks to tweeter Erica Smith for pointing this out.]

ALSO:

Colorado firefighters hampered by winds, heat -- and meteors

Video: George Zimmerman describes Trayvon Martin encounter

Summer solstice 2012: Did you miss the longest day of the year?

Join Amy on Google+. Email: [email protected]