COLUMBUS, Ohio — Under Ohio law, transportation must be provided for charter and nonpublic school students if they live within the city school district’s boundaries and no more than 30 minutes from the public school they would be assigned to if they attended.
But now Columbus City School’s website states charter and non-public school students who reside within the boundaries of CCS must request transportation through an online form.
A letter sent by Columbus City School's Office of Transportation shocked some parents.
The letter reads in part:
“Dear parents and guardians of charter/non-public school students, you are receiving this letter because Columbus City Schools has determined that under section 3327.02 of the Ohio revised code, it is impractical to transport your student(s) to and from his/her charter/non-public school.
This determination means that your student(s) will no longer be transported by CCS’s Transportation department.
Factors involved in making this decision:
- The time and distance required to provide the transportation
- The number of students being transported
- The cost to provide the transportation
- Whether similar or equivalent service is provided to other students eligible for transportation
- Whether, and to what extent, the additional service unavoidably disrupts current transportation schedules
- Whether other reimbursable types of transportation are available."
“We were actually told literally maybe 10 days before school started that our daughter was deemed impractical,” said Sherman Loy, the parent of a charter school student.
Michelle Hester is the mother of a student who attends Columbus Collegiate Academy Charter School and said she relies on the district’s transportation.
“I’m a single-parent household, I don’t got any support except for myself,” said Hester.
The letter cited six factors that went into the decision including time, distance and cost of transportation.
“For every student that we have required or identified as impractical, we have identified at least five of the six factors,” said a member of CCS's Department of Transportation at a recent board meeting.
Alternative options and solutions were given to parents including an offer of payment in lieu of transportation or possible mediation to solve the matter.
“We live in Columbus, it’s the capital of the state, set the standard. Why is the standard so low?” said Loy.
Andy Boy, CEO of United Schools, said since 2008 the district has provided transportation for charter students.
“We learned just two weeks before the school year started that dozens of our students were deemed impractical or ineligible to transport,” said Boy. "When we fight for equitable funding we go to the statehouse, we don’t take it out on our families. What the district is doing is taking it out on our families when what they should be doing is taking it to the statehouse to get the type of resources they say they need to provide transportation, “ he said.
Boy has hired a third party to transport students for the time being using the school’s cash reserve at an extreme cost.
10TV reached out to the school district with more questions and is waiting to hear back.