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Superintendent says bus rerouting will save roughly $200,000 and could trigger state efficiency bonus
Summary
Superintendent Severs described district-wide bus rerouting that reduced routes and driver hours, producing a conservative projected savings of about $200,000 (internal runs ~ $218,000) and creating conditions to qualify for an Ohio Department of Education efficiency bonus once T2 reports are filed.
Superintendent Severs told the Lebanon City Schools Board of Education that a district-wide transportation reroute at the start of the school year reduced routes and driver hours and is expected to produce significant recurring savings.
"We made this shift, based off of research, based off of data," Severs said, describing a change that reduced the number of routes from 67 to 61 (a net change of six routes) and increased three-tiered routes from 4 to 14. He said the reroute reduced staffing hours by roughly "20 hours per day" and that an early, conservative annual savings estimate is about "$200,000" though his team ran the numbers closer to "$218,000." Severs cautioned the figure can vary based on driver benefit elections and payroll outcomes.
Severs added that eliminating six routes reduces the number of buses the district will need to replace in coming years, which he estimated could yield an additional long-term saving of approximately $600,000 (six buses at roughly $100,000 each) though he said those savings are harder to quantify up front.
Board members asked whether the routing changes would qualify the district for an Ohio Department of Education efficiency bonus. Severs said the district typically files the T2 report in October; if the state analysis supports the route changes the district expects additional revenue, but he noted that the $200,000 figure did not include any projected bonus.
Severs also said the district is monitoring traffic effects at key intersections and has communicated route-signup requirements to families. The board later approved the 2024–25 bus-stop map by unanimous roll call.
The board did not discuss any reductions in service levels; Severs emphasized that the route changes were designed to avoid reducing employment and that some drivers gained hours despite fewer total drivers compared with last year.
