buses

In the long and emotional meeting, board members made more than $50 million in cuts, despite shooting down two different plans to reduce busing for high school students.

School closures, major staff reductions and discontinuing busing for certain students are among the items board members will consider at the Tuesday evening meeting at the district's South High Street office.

District Superintendent Angela Chapman discussed the proposal during a Columbus Board of Education committee meeting Thursday night.

More building closures, cutting high school busing and potential staff cuts are on the horizon. The district laid out these possibilities and the district's finances in a series of three townhall workshop meetings in late October.

In Ohio the bus driver shortage is continuing in part because public schools must transport non-public school students.

Columbus spends about 6% of its $1.8 billion budget on transportation. At a committee meeting on Thursday, the school board recommended eliminating the requirement to transport students in grades 9 through 12.

The Central Ohio Transit Authority voted Monday to hire a firm to conduct the study. It currently costs $2 to ride a COTA bus, but some programs exist to give certain populations free or reduced rides.

The Central Ohio Transit Authority will start using funds this year to increase the frequency of buses and extend late night hours to midnight.

The nearly $500 million budget includes funding for more than 30 new bus drivers that will lead to increased frequency and allow COTA to eventually run until midnight.

The suit by parents of a student who lives in the Columbus school district said the schools are obligated to provide transportation.