Lakota Local Schools ends bus routes for private school students
District says low ridership made several routes impractical
Download the FREE FOX19 NOW news app for iPhone
Download the FREE FOX19 NOW news app for Android
LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WXIX) - The Lakota Local Schools Board of Education has passed a resolution declaring several bus routes for private school students impractical, ending transportation service for those students.
The decision drew protests from parents of private school students who live within the district and pay property taxes. Several spoke before the board ahead of the vote, which came weeks before the first day of school.
Parents push back on the decision
“We love living in this community. We believe Lakota is a great school,” one parent said. “But there is one service that makes living in the community feasible for us, and that’s busing to the school that allows our student to go to the school that best serves his learning needs.”
Another parent called on the board to reconsider. “My ask is for consideration to include all taxpaying students in the community — not just those who use the full district services,” the parent said.
District cites cost per pupil
School officials said a review of all transportation routes found that some carried only four to six students on a given day.
“While that is certainly helpful to the families that use that bus, from a fiscal responsibility aspect to our district, if you do cost per pupil, a bus costs about $100,000 per route,” said Dr. Ashley Whiteley. “If there are four students on a bus, that’s $25,000 per pupil on that bus.”
District officials said Lakota’s transportation costs are projected to exceed $23 million this year. The resolution is expected to save $1.2 million — the equivalent of 10 teaching positions.
Whiteley also referenced a prior public commitment. “We said publicly in the last levy discussion that if there is a way to make K-12 transportation, that is what we will do,” she said.
The resolution passed. The first days of school for Lakota Local students are Aug. 13 and 14, depending on last name.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Copyright 2026 WXIX. All rights reserved.