The Columbus City Schools Board of Education discussed proposed changes to busing for high schoolers as the deadline approaches to develop a plan to potentially bus them on COTA buses.
At an Oct. 20 meeting, the district administration presented an update to board members from a work group aimed at determining whether it was viable to cancel busing for high schoolers in order to save costs amid budget cuts and use Central Ohio Transit Authority bus passes to get students to school. The discussion comes after The Dispatch reported in September that COTA buses had missed 32,000 trips through August.
In December 2026, two measures to cancel busing for high school students failed after contentious debate about whether doing so without a concrete plan
was a wise decision. The board also considered providing passes for high school students to travel to school aboard COTA buses.
Instead, the board voted unanimously in December to approve a work group that would direct the superintendent to work collaboratively with COTA and other central Ohio leaders to develop a plan for using mass transit for high schoolers.
The administration has until the end of December to present a plan to the board and are now at the stage of drafting a proposal.
At the Oct. 20 presentation, district transportation administrators presented three options for busing high schoolers, including charter and private school students: canceling all busing and not providing COTA passes, canceling busing and providing COTA passes, or canceling busing to most 9-12 students and providing yellow bus service to students with more than one transfer or their school is otherwise inaccessible via bus.
The first plan would save the district an estimated $7.2 million, the second plan would save the district $5 million, and the third would save $4.8 million.
According to information presented, more than 4,200 high school students currently rely on traditional busing to get to school, including 740 charter and private school students.
Of the 9,200 total students CCS is responsible for transporting, 73% of students can be directly transported to school in a single ride, and 24% would require one transfer. Only 3%, or 276 students, are either out of COTA's range or require two or more transfers.
Can students get to school with COTA missing routes?
The Dispatch previously reported that COTA buses never showed up for 6.4% of the more than 497,000 trips the transit agency ran during the first eight months of this year – more than 32,000 trips in total. A major reason for the missed trips is COTA's 50 electric buses, which make up around 17% of the fleet but around 3% of COTA's service hours.
COTA's electric buses are currently under a recall from manufacturer New Flyer due to a defect in the vehicles' batteries that could cause a short circuit, and potentially a fire, when the buses are fully or near fully charged. So COTA can only charge these buses to around 75%, drastically reducing their travel range, The Dispatch previously reported.
One of the goals for a plan to bus high schoolers was that students could safely and confidently navigate using COTA.
Aslyne Rodriguez, director of regional partnerships with COTA, said the transit authority has been working to identify infrastructure improvement needs, a plan to connect with families and developing a code of conduct for student riders.
"The priority remains the same student safety, accessibility readiness and a transportation solution that CCS, COTA, students and families can have confidence in," Rodriguez said.
Board President Antoinette Miranda said that based on what she heard during the Oct. 20 meeting, actions COTA was taking would benefit all clients.
"So my hope is that they have to take this project with us in Columbus and the importance of getting the kids to school and they will become more reliable," Miranda said.
Cole Behrens covers K-12 education and school districts in central Ohio. Have a tip? Contact Cole at cbehrens@dispatch.com or connect with him on X at @Colebehr_report
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: As COTA misses trips, CCS weighs sending high schoolers on their buses
