Lebanon City Schools cites route consolidation and driver shortages after transportation changes

Lebanon City Schools Superintendent provided a detailed update on transportation at the Dec. 16 board meeting, saying start-time adjustments and route consolidations reduced six bus routes and produced measurable savings but left the district with three vacant routes it has not filled.

The superintendent said the district adjusted building start times by 15 minutes for most schools, added time between routes and consolidated stops into group bus stops. That work initially removed six buses from daily service; the administration now cites realized savings in transportation of approximately $124,000 in one accounting item and projects annual savings on the order of $214,000 based on the district’s six-month review.

Board members and administrators stressed the operational trade-offs. The superintendent said substitutes and spare drivers are “way down,” that office transportation staff are regularly driving routes and accruing overtime, and that those practices are not sustainable. He said, if vacancies persist, the district could be forced to cancel a route for a day — a change that would raise attendance and excusal questions for affected students.

To address staffing gaps, the administration proposed using nine-passenger vans under Ohio law (which does not require a commercial driver’s license but does require training) for some smaller routes and activity trips. The superintendent asked trustees to consider reallocating a portion of transportation savings to purchase one or two vans this year and to return with bids and formal budget requests.

Board members discussed operational details, including the difficulty of using vans for larger teams, the need for multiple vans for many spring activities and the risk that using vans could reduce availability for field trips. The superintendent also noted the district may need to purchase special-education buses with lifts in the future and recommended reinvesting transportation savings into fleet replacement to avoid a large, simultaneous replacement need down the road.

The board did not take an immediate vote on van purchases at the meeting; the superintendent said staff would bring estimates and recommended actions back to the board as part of the upcoming budget process. He also urged community members who can drive to consider applying for substitute bus-driver positions.

The district framed the transportation changes as a preemptive measure to reduce the number of routes it could not staff; the superintendent said, “Had we not reduced those six routes, we'd be looking at nine routes that we couldn't fill.”

Next steps: the administration will return with cost estimates and formal budget requests for potential van purchases and report further on driver recruitment and route impacts.