Ohio’s largest district considers ending high school buses

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus City Schools is considering eliminating yellow bus transportation for high school students or shifting them to Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) service as it looks to close a $50 million budget gap, raising safety and access concerns among families.

Superintendent Angela Chapman said transportation is one of several spending areas under review as the district searches for substantial savings.

“Small cuts will not close this budget gap. We have to make big decisions, tough decisions,” Chapman said.

One proposal would end high school bus service entirely, leaving students in grades 9 through 12 without transportation and returning the district to the state minimum. Another option would replace district-run buses with COTA passes for high school students. Parent Latrice Bradley, whose son is a junior, said the change would disrupt his commute and daily routine.

“The fact that there’s a chance you will not have a bus sounds ludicrous to me. It doesn’t make sense,” she said.

Bradley said she is concerned about her son waiting for a public bus before sunrise, riding alongside adults and depending on drivers who are not trained to transport minors. She added that he relies on district buses to travel between schools for sports and after-school activities.

“That’s a big deal to put kids in front of adults that are going to work, that are just riding a bus,” she said.

Board members acknowledged the difficulty of the decisions.

“No matter what decision we make, kids will be affected by those determinations,” board member Sarah Ingles said.

Bradley said she fears some students may skip school without the structure that traditional transportation provides. School Board President Michael Cole said attendance will remain a firm expectation.

“Not attending school is not an option. It is not for legal purposes and most importantly, for the highest aspirational purposes of your education and your future,” he said.

District officials say they will continue collecting community feedback as they finalize the budget reduction plan. The school board is expected to vote on the cost-cutting recommendations at its Dec. 2 meeting.