DAYTON — Dayton Public Schools is planning a survey for parents as the school year quickly approaches, with no plan in place for high school student busing.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 6, the change in state law means high school students from DPS will not be hopping on buses at the downtown RTA Hub, and are left scrambling for a way to make sure they get to class.
“We are exploring all different types of options,” Dr. David Lawrence, superintendent of DPS, said.
Lawrence may not think the actions by state lawmakers are fair, but he can’t waste any time.
His eyes are on solutions.
The district paid $2.6 million for bus passes last year.
Now they must take that money and use it elsewhere.
“Use those resources, reinvest in the community to build some type of informal transportation network that allows us to get high school students to school and possibly home,” Lawrence said.
The pressure to change things has been building ever since DPS began using RTA three years ago for high school students, and the transfers happened downtown.
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The death of 18-year-old Dunbar student Alfred Hale near the Hub in April turned up that pressure.
Lawmakers put a provision in the state budget that high schoolers can’t transfer there.
“High school kids are going to be high school kids, loud, a little rambunctious at times, but I don’t mind them, they’re a joy to ride with,” Paul Polk said.
Polk hasn’t had any problems sharing the buses or the Hub with DPS students, but with changes in store, he said the school district is in a tough spot.
“I wouldn’t like to be in their shoes, in parents’ shoes anyway, figuring out what we’re going to do. It’s going to be a challenge for everybody,” Polk said.
The school district is reaching out to parents for input.
“We plan on sending out a survey next week to say ‘hey, here are some of the options that we came up with’ in terms of how we are thinking about transporting high school students to school and getting them from school to home,” Lawrence said.
The school board has only around 30 days to come up with a new plan.
The first day of school is August 12.
We will continue to follow this story.
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