Families grapple with Columbus City School bus cuts

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus City Schools will end bus transportation this fall for some kindergarten through eighth-grade students attending non-100% lottery schools unless they are placed there for specialized services, a decision district leaders said is necessary to address a $50 million budget shortfall. 

What You Need To Know

• Columbus City Schools will cut busing this fall for K–8 students attending non-100% lottery schools to address a $50 million budget shortfall

• District leaders said the move is intended to protect classrooms, jobs and programs

• Parents said the cuts will disrupt family routines and create challenges

Superintendent Angela Chapman said the decision brings Columbus in line with other school districts that require families to provide their own transportation for lottery-based school placements.

 “Find another district that is our size, as big as our district is, as wide and expansive as our city is — that’s bussing students,” Chapman said. “When you think about lottery options — you live on the far west side, and we’re busing students to the far north side as a lottery option. In most districts, if you’re applying to a lottery school, it is fully the responsibility of the parents to provide that transportation.”

For Terra Purdy, a Columbus City School parent, the policy change disrupts a managed family schedule. With both parents working full time, she said mornings and afternoons are already constrained.

“I’m a very involved parent. I’m part of the PTA and things like that. And this was not on my radar at all,” Purdy said.

Beginning in August, Purdy’s daughter, Penelope, will no longer receive bus transportation to Binns Elementary, a lottery school selected by the family for its academic ratings and safety.

Purdy said her family will need to adjust her work schedule to accommodate the daily commute.

“This is incredibly impactful to your work, to your finances, to your child’s education,” said Purdy. “There are so many factors in this that I don’t think were taken into consideration. I think that it was purely a fiscal move.”

Columbus Board of Education President Miranda Antoinette said the board made tough decisions before approving the transportation changes and emphasized the importance of community engagement.

 “It will be painful, but I think if we’re honest with the community and let them have some input, in terms of what they may see, they may not get everything they want, but I think we have some really good minds that can really come up with solutions.” Antoinette said.

District officials said the transportation reductions should preserve programs, resources and staffing levels. Some parents, however, said the burden will fall on families.

“I can only imagine how this is going to impact others who don’t have the same circumstances, who don’t have two cars, who don’t have, you know, both parents or drivers, who don’t have the financial means to get a service,” Purdy said.

District leaders said that parents who choose to return their children to their assigned neighborhood schools will continue to receive bus transportation. Some parents, however, said changing schools poses challenges and disruptions to their children’s education.