The students' parents said they appreciate the apology but ultimately want to see the driver fired.

"What would make him go to a different bus and not say the things that he said in the other bus?" parent Sam Pacheco asked.

Pacheco is pleased, however, that administrators listened to students and apologized. "I wanted them to hear the situation straight from the kids and they did."

The district is continuing its investigation into the Sept. 25 incident during which students picked up at Bonneville Junior High in Holladay said a driver called them "brown garbage" and "brown trash." The driver, whose name has not been released, is on paid suspension.

Administrators including the district's transportation director and Bonneville's principal met at the school Monday with the students to apologize for the driver's action.

"We assured them that we need them in school. We want them at school. They're valuable to us. We also encouraged them to help us by maintaining order on the bus," Granite spokesman Randy Ripplinger said, adding letters of apology also will be sent home.

Later in the day, Pacheco, about seven other parents and their children, and community activist Tony Yapias met in a closed meeting for nearly two hours with Granite Superintendent Stephen Ronnenkamp and Martin Bates and David Gourley, assistant superintendents.

Ripplinger said administrators acknowledge the incident took place and that disparaging remarks were made. "We will not tolerate that," he said.

"After we sift through everything we've heard today, which has been very helpful, we'll make a determination that could include various forms of discipline up to and including termination," Ripplinger said.

"At this time we just want to let the district finish [its] investigation," Yapias said. "All the parents and the kids feel pleased they had an opportunity to speak and to have a personal apology from the superintendent."

Investigators have at their disposal a recording of the incident one student made with her phone. Amarili Miranda said after the driver first used slurs, she started recording in case he repeated the slurs. She wanted to be able to share the recording with her mom when she got home.

Miranda and her mother Maria Cruz attended the Monday meeting and played the recording for those present. Although the recording did not capture the driver saying "brown" it did record him yelling "shut up" and "garbage."

But all the students on the bus heard him say the racial slurs, Pacheco said.