Columbus City Schools administrators warned Tuesday that there may be busing problems at the beginning of the coming school year as the district only has three-fourths of its goal for bus drivers.
The meeting Tuesday was the Columbus City school board's first after a July recess, and administrators across various departments shared updates on the district's preparedness for the upcoming 2024-25 school year, which begins Wednesday, Aug. 21, for most students .
More: Nine Columbus City schools potentially face closure. Here's what to know
Maurice Woods, CCS chief operating officer, warned families to expect some late buses in the first several weeks of school because he wanted to "manage expectations."
"We just try to ensure that we're managing our communication and asking the public to just understand that there's going to be some late buses the first couple of weeks, and to work with us and provide some level of grace," Woods said.
CCS only around 75% of bus driver goal, but most trainees in 5 years
According to information presented at Tuesday's meeting, Columbus City Schools is only at 74% of its target goal of bus drivers, with 453 drivers of its 610 goal. However, the district has hired seven additional bus drivers and has 95 drivers in its trainee program.
Amy Grover, CCS chief talent officer, said the 95 trainees represent "the highest number of new bus driver trainees in five years." A district spokesperson said in a statement that eight trainees will be ready when school starts, and 29 will be ready by September (if they all successfully pass a commercial driver's license exam).
"While we have only realized seven bus driver hires over the summer, we have a large pool of bus driver trainees working to become drivers," Grover said.
The district also has only 19 or 48% of its staffing level goal of 40 van drivers for special education students.
Board Member Jennifer Adair said she wanted to remind the public that the district's transportation operation is one of the "largest logistic operations in the country" and that the district is also required by law to bus charter and other nonpublic students, even outside of Franklin County. A spokesperson said the district will use transportation vendors to bus over 8,000 charter and nonpublic students for the upcoming school year.
"This is the most challenging time of the year, and it sounds like you have a handle on things, but we know things happen," Adair said.
Nationwide bus driver shortage remains severe
Last year, The Dispatch reported that school districts across central Ohio, including Columbus City Schools , Groveport Madison , Westerville and others, have experienced seemingly perennial issues with getting enough bus drivers, resulting in staggered starts, interruptions and buses that sometimes simply never show up for pickups or drop-offs.
The nationwide bus driver shortage remains a persistent issue for districts across the country, according to a November 2023 study by the Economic Policy Institute .
According to the research, there was an approximately 15% overall reduction in bus drivers since 2019, with 192,400 drivers working in K–12 schools in September 2023, and a 13.6% decline in state and local government school bus drivers.
However, that reflects a slight rebound from the lowest point for bus driver employment in 2021, which saw an over 30% overall reduction in bus drivers across the country, according to the study.
How is CCS prepared for the start of school in other areas?
According to information presented during the board meeting, CCS is more than 90% staffed in most positions, including general classroom faculty (99%), special education teachers (92%) and custodians (95%). Other than bus drivers, the district is at 82% of its goal for district security staffing.
Overall, the district has filled 97% of total certificated (or teaching and support positions) and will be at 96% of key classified positions (like custodians and instructional assistants) by the time hiring is completed, Grover said.
The district also completed several capital projects over the summer, including renovating academic facilities, the gym and auditorium at Mifflin High School and improvements to classrooms and the media center at Scottwood Elementary.
Adair commended district administration for preparing "a really great readiness report."
"This is probably one of the best I've heard," Adair said.
District to update public on school closing process at next meeting
Board President Christina Vera said the public can expect to receive an update on school closings at the second meeting of every month (the board meets bi-monthly).
"I know that has been a question and a conversation as to when we can expect to share and just know that your board is working very hard," Vera said. "Certainly we want to be able to share those next steps with you once we are ready to be able to provide that information."
More: Columbus school closings: Neighbors fear blight as district mulls shuttering buildings
In June, the Superintendent's Facilities Task Force recommended at a board meeting that the board consider closing six elementary schools, two middle schools and a high school building in the state's largest district, which has more than 110 buildings, The Dispatch previously reported.
That was 11 schools fewer than what the the task force presented in May, where up to 20 possible school buildings were recommended for closure under nine initial scenarios .
Cbehrens@dispatch.com
@Colebehr_report
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Schools warns of late buses when school starts as district seeks more drivers
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