District slams brakes on busing

Editor's note: Joseph Jones is a Register correspondent representing vermiliondaily.com. VERMILION — Vermilion Schools will temporarily suspend school bus transportation for high school-aged students, in grades 9-12, citing a severe shortage of qualified drivers. An announcement from superintendent David Hile went public on Monday, a little more than two weeks before school starts. Hile, in an emailed letter to families, explained that the district has already consolidated six routes over the past two years and has relied heavily on mechanics and the director of transportation to cover daily runs. Recent departures have made that model unsustainable. "We had a bus mechanic leave in the spring, a driver retire at the end of last school year, another resign to become a truck driver and one develop a medical issue that prevents them from driving," said Hile, stressing how busing for students attending EHOVE Career Center will be maintained. The district now finds itself short three drivers and one substitute driver. Because previous consolidations have already filled the buses to capacity, further route reductions are not an option, Hile said. As a result, transportation for high school students is being paused until new drivers can be hired and trained. Busing for extracurricular activities, however, will continue, since those trips happen outside normal route hours and can still be covered. Hile also noted that school bus drivers in Ohio must meet strict certification requirements, which include: • Earning a commercial driver's license with school bus endorsements • Passing four written exams and a driving test • Going through 15 hours of classroom instruction and 12 hours of behind-the-wheel training The full process can take weeks or even months and often deters potential applicants. "This is the last thing we want to do," Hile said. "We know how important busing is for our families, and we will resume transportation as soon as we are able to hire additional drivers." The district is encouraging interested candidates to apply. People can contact the district for now. For now, families are asked to make alternative arrangements for high school transportation as the new school year begins. Common issues Nearly every public school district — be it locally, across the state or nationally — faces challenges related to student transportation. In a fall 2024 Register article, which explored this issue, several people offered their perspectives. One point of focus was on the pick-up and drop-off times. "They say it's supposed to be there at a certain time, and the driver typically will just choose to come 20 or 30 minutes early," Payton Hendricks said on social media. "Even if you're 10 to 15 minutes early, your kid misses the bus and has no transportation." Community members, including former and current bus drivers, said drivers are met with stress on a daily basis. "If people would sit behind that wheel and see what a bus driver has to go through daily with children, traffic and other situations, you would understand why that job was so stressful and why there's a need for bus drivers and people are quitting the job," said Keith Whaley, a former bus driver. At the time, a current driver, Beth Ann Wagner, shared other drawbacks to the job, which she said contributed to the driver shortage. This would include low wages, lack of support and students' rock-bottom respect level with little fear of facing consequences for their actions.