COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus City Schools Superintendent Dr. Angela Chapman said no changes will be made just yet after Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a lawsuit against the district for failing to bus some charter and private school students this year.
Chapman said she wasn’t expecting it.
"I was surprised, and I remain surprised,” Chapman said.
Chapman said they made these necessary cuts to the bus routes while still ensuring the law was closely followed.
"We were providing services to families who had chosen a school that was more than 30 minutes away,” Chapman said.
School districts in the state are only required to provide transportation to charter and private school students who live within district boundaries and are no more than 30 minutes from the public school they would attend if assigned.
Before making these difficult decisions, Chapman said they did their due diligence.
"We had a consultant from the Ohio School Boards Association, and we met with and consulted with the Department of Education and Workforce to really look at the letter of the law and really look at the services we're required to provide,” Chapman said.
Chapman said the decision to make these cuts was largely due to the significant shortage of school bus drivers.
"We cannot act as if there isn't a shortage of drivers because there is. Last year we had significant challenges with our routing. There were many, many late buses, too many days to count. There were too many students on a route. There were buses that were not showing up,” Chapman said.
Chapman said those challenges are unacceptable.
Many families said they’re not only upset about the transportation cuts but the fact that they were given such short notice about those changes, leaving them with little time to make other arrangements.
"That is unacceptable. That's on us and that's an opportunity for us to improve our communication in recognizing that families need time. These are big decisions to think about how your child is going to get to and from school,” Chapman said.
Chapman said for now, the district will remain in constant communication with the students, families, and schools affected by the busing changes.
"We certainly want to be a part of the solution in helping all families make the decisions that they need so that they can get their child to and from school,” Chapman said.