COLUMBUS, Ohio — One by one, buses began lining up in a transportation center parking lot early Wednesday morning, marking the first day of classes for the 45,000 students enrolled in Columbus City Schools.
Unexpected bus route delays meant some students didn’t get to and from school on time.
As 10TV has previously reported, bus routes changed in January to help with the bus issues.
One CCS parent, Nataria Scales said, "it was just very stressful."
Scales said her issues began prior to the first day.
"Out of the blue, I got an email on Aug. 21. An email, a text and a call stating her route was changed to what it was originally last year, which was the front of our complex. We got there at 6:05 a.m. this morning, we waited 30 minutes, and the bus never came," she said.
Another parent, Jeremy Bruskotter, told 10TV that his son's bus was running 25 minutes late at 7:46 a.m. Wednesday, forcing him to drive his son to school.
Molly Farrell said her daughter had a "positive" first day and made it to school on time for breakfast.
Aside from those hiccups, the district said the first day of classes went well. In terms of staffing, a spokesperson said there are fewer teacher vacancies due to the reassignment of properly licensed classroom teachers.
This includes:
General Education Classroom Teachers
- 12 vacancies
- 34 candidates in hiring processes
- 3,564 – total general education classroom teacher positions
Special Education Classroom Teachers
- 1 vacancy
- 5 candidates in hiring processes
- 623 – total special education classroom teacher positions
Parents with issues about buses should call the transportation call center at 614-365-5074 or Customer Relations at 614-365-8888.