DAYTON — No one knows how Dayton Public Schools (DPS) high school students will get to school this August.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed the two-year $60 billion state operating budget into law late Monday night.
>>RELATED: DeWine signs $60 billion state budget into law
Part of the budget is a proposal that makes student transfers at the Greater Dayton RTA downtown bus hub a violation of state law.
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Dayton Public School Superintendent David Lawrence said he is extremely disappointed that the budget bill was signed into law.
“This is catastrophic. It’s a direct attack on our high school students. That’s how we see it,” Lawrence said.
This change means DPS high school students who have used RTA passes and transferred at the downtown hub to get to school for the last three years can no longer do that.
“So that would really hurt our attendance, which of course hurts our academic outcomes,” Lawrence said.
Some businesses, community groups and city leaders have shared their worries with DPS high school students using RTA buses and the downtown hub over the past few years.
They said it’s dangerous for students to transfer there.
>>RELATED: Arrest made in shooting that killed 18-year-old high school student
The issue reignited when 18-year-old Alfred Hale, a Paul Laurence Dunbar student, was shot and killed near the hub on April 4.
State Representative Phil Plummer previously introduced legislation to force the schools away from using the downtown hub.
“We get it, that there are folks out there that are very serious about getting students from downtown, and we understand,” Lawrence said.
The biggest problem is that the state budget forces this change to happen for the upcoming school year.
It’s not easy to find alternatives for a school district that is required to take charter school students to their buildings.
“The kids aren’t driving themselves, and then we’re expecting parents to transport high school students; this is really, really going to be devastating,” Lawrence said.
DPS officials thought they would be able to use the RTA service and downtown hub during this school year because Plummer’s proposal originally gave a one-year timeframe to find an alternative.
But now, the district has just over a month to come up with a plan as the school year starts on August 12.
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
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