EdChoice families hit first when public schools lack transportation funding ...Middle East

GROVE CITY, Ohio (WCMH) -- South Western City Schools parent Aaron Nestor said his family felt "targeted" when they received word the district would no longer provide busing for their kids to attend their Catholic school.

"I have the right to EdChoice in the state of Ohio, I have the right to send my child to wherever I want," Nestor said. "It feels like I'm being targeted for my address and my religious beliefs of having my children go to a religious school.”

Nestor said his elementary schoolers are two of 30 students who live in the South Western district boundaries and attend St. Christopher's Catholic School in Grandview Heights, formerly Trinity Catholic. Although other school choice families not far from his students' route are still being bused in the fall, Nestor received word that the district would no longer bus to St. Christopher's. He said his family is now scrambling, and he said it's an issue school choice families are having around the state.

Districts are responsible for busing charter and private school students who live within their boundaries. However, they can declare students' transportation impractical when the time, distance, cost or too few students makes transportation impractical. If a district declares a student ineligible, the student's family can either accept a payment as determined by the state or request mediation to find a solution.

School Choice Ohio spokesperson Beth Lawson said the nonprofit has seen a "significant increase" in students being declared transportation impractical in recent years. This has coupled with a significant increase in school choice students; Ohio's Education Choice scholarship participation has skyrocketed since 2022.

"In many of these cases, families feel caught in a system that lacks consistency and transparency — and they're not wrong," Lawson said. "When transportation is withheld, it can functionally block access to a school that is otherwise available to them through programs like EdChoice."

SWCS said it is providing busing to nine fewer charter, religious and nonpublic schools this upcoming school year. The district is actively seeking more bus drivers, holding an open recruitment event on Tuesday to staff routes to 34 district schools and 25 nondistrict charter or private schools this fall.

"While it is always our hope to transport every student that lives within our district boundaries, each year in an annual review of new routes, staffing, new enrollments and shifting addresses for the near 16,000 students we transport across 119 square miles, we regrettably must start the impractical to transport process with a small percentage of students each year,” SWCS spokesperson Evan Debo said.

SWCS is one of many districts changing its bus routes. In September 2024, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost sued Columbus City Schools after the district gave limited warning that it would no longer bus many charter school students. Nearly 2,000 students were affected.

"Some (districts) are following the law and transporting students as they have received the funding to do," Lawson said. "Unfortunately, others have found creative ways to avoid providing this transportation, which essentially denies school choice for families who rely on it to access the best education fit for their children."

But SWCS said it is far more expensive for the district to bus nonpublic students. The district said between travel, maintenance and personnel costs, it costs $5,678 per non-public student but just $950 per SWCS student to bus them for a year. The district receives transportation funding from the state; however, SWCS said it had to spend nearly double that during the 2024-2025 school year, shouldering $10,704,816 more in transportation costs.

Nestor said his children's school cannot afford to bus the students either. Cost is a concern for Nestor, too. He said having just two weeks to decide whether to accept the $590 payment per child was too short, saying it felt like a "shakedown" to make such a crucial choice so soon.

Nestor said the choice is especially difficult because the family just joined the Catholic school last year. When switching schools, Nestor said the family asked the district if transportation would be an issue and were assured they would have it. Nestor said he plans to request mediation instead of the payment, and SWCS said it will bus students until a resolution is reached.

"Busing is critical to the reason why we chose this school," Nestor said. "My wife and I both work ... we would either have to either quit our jobs and find new work to make time to take them to school ourselves, or we're going to have to find new schooling. I don't think they understand how traumatic this is to our family and to the future of our children's education."

Lawson said if families are declared transportation impractical, they should request a detailed explanation from their district and reach out to the Ohio Department of Education if they don't feel it is justified. She said families can also reach out to School Choice Ohio to be connected with resources.

"Ohio needs to ensure that districts are accurately following the law and are appropriately penalized for failure to meet this important obligation," Lawson said. "There are many school districts, large and small, that do a fabulous job providing safe and timely transportation to students. Safe transportation to schools should not be a barrier to opportunity."

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