DAYTON — Dayton Public Schools won twice in court, but the district continues to face pressure on its busing plan for next year.
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>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Court issues ruling on ongoing Dayton Public busing issue
As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, state lawmakers have hinted that the district can pay for the yellow buses needed to get high schoolers to class instead of using RTA buses.
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However, district leaders said they have to use the downtown bus hub. They also pushed back about what they need and who should provide it.
“We gave several examples of schools that the attendance was down anywhere from 6 to 7 percent,” Dayton Public Schools Superintendent David Lawrence said.
Lawrence said the first three days of high school in August without transportation were very tough.
That’s why the district needed the TRO, which is a permanent injunction to keep a new state law from going into place.
>>RELATED: Dayton Public Schools sues state for new busing law, calling it ‘unreasonable,’ ‘discriminatory’
The law specifically keeps students from using downtown hubs to transfer buses.
“What about removing some of the charter school legislation, which then will allow us to transport our students,” Lawrence said.
As previously reported by News Center 7, DPS announced Friday afternoon that the Franklin County Court granted its request for an extended preliminary injunction regarding the purchase of RTA bus passes for students.
The ruling allows the district to continue buying RTA passes for high school students for the entire 2025-26 school year.
Lawrence said if the district is forced to take charter and non-public students to their schools, they simply can’t afford enough buses for high schoolers.
DPS claims that they would need 50 more buses, at an estimated $150,000 a piece, to get every high schooler to class.
They added that it reportedly takes 18 to 24 months to get a new school bus.
Dayton-area state lawmakers claimed the cost would be greater if nothing is done at the downtown hub.
“We had 25 community business, people down there, come to us and say if we don’t get downtown and the hub cleaned up, we’re leaving Dayton. They’re leaving Dayton, which is the tax base for Dayton and our schools,” State Rep. Phil Plummer said in court last week.
Lawyers for the state told the court that the district had $139 million carryover cash going into their 2025 budget year.
The district said this money is spoken for in its five-year plan.
“We don’t count other people’s money; we don’t tell them what to do with their wallet. We have a massive operation here,” Lawrence said.
The district said another way to manage to stop using the hub would be if state lawmakers provide extra money to pay for new yellow buses.
This case is scheduled to go to trial next September.
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
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