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The State of Ohio

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Delta-8 and other unregulated THC products can go back on the shelves - for now. A future Ohio State football players sues to open the door for NIL deals for high school athletes. And schools are getting no break from a bus driver shortage that's dragged on for years. Guests are Columbus attorney Luke Fedlam and transportation consultant Doug Palmer.

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00:00:00	Support
00:00:00	for the Statehouse News Bureau
00:00:02	comes from Medical Mutual,
00:00:03	dedicated to the health
00:00:03	and well-being of Ohioans,
00:00:05	offering health insurance
00:00:05	plans, as well as dental,
00:00:08	vision and wellness programs
00:00:08	to help people
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00:00:10	and remain healthy.
00:00:12	More at Med mutual.com.
00:00:14	The law offices of Porter,
00:00:14	right, Morris and Arthur LLP.
00:00:17	Porter, right, is dedicated
00:00:17	to bringing inspired legal
00:00:21	outcomes to the Ohio business
00:00:21	community.
00:00:23	More at Porter. Right.
00:00:24	Com Porter Wright
00:00:24	inspired every day.
00:00:27	You know, Ohio
00:00:27	Education Association
00:00:29	representing 120,000 educators
00:00:29	who are united
00:00:32	in their mission to create
00:00:32	the excellent public schools.
00:00:35	Every child deserves more at o
00:00:35	h e talk.
00:00:39	Delta eight
00:00:39	and other unregulated
00:00:40	THC products can go back on
00:00:40	the shelves in Ohio for now.
00:00:44	A future Ohio State football
00:00:44	player sues to open the door
00:00:47	for Nil deals for high school
00:00:47	athletes.
00:00:50	And schools
00:00:50	are getting no break
00:00:52	from a bus driver shortage
00:00:52	that's dragged on for years.
00:00:55	That's this
00:00:55	week in the state of Ohio.
00:01:16	Welcome to the state of Ohio.
00:01:17	I'm Karen Kasler.
00:01:19	A ban on so-called
00:01:19	intoxicating hemp.
00:01:21	Ordered by governor
00:01:21	Mike DeWine was short lived,
00:01:24	but it could come back later
00:01:24	this month.
00:01:27	DeWine was sued by three Ohio
00:01:27	based businesses
00:01:29	after ordering a 90 day stop
00:01:29	to all sales of hemp products
00:01:33	with psychoactive ingredients
00:01:33	like delta eight, THC or THC.
00:01:38	A Franklin County judge
00:01:38	sided with the retailers,
00:01:41	saying DeWine
00:01:41	acted outside his authority
00:01:43	and blocked the ban
00:01:43	till hearing on October 28th.
00:01:46	DeWine told reporters
00:01:47	this week
00:01:48	that he said for two years
00:01:50	that something needed
00:01:50	to be done, so he did it.
00:01:52	this whole thing
00:01:52	needs to be regulated.
00:01:57	It's a serious it's a serious,
00:01:57	serious problem
00:02:00	that's going on in the state
00:02:00	now for for some time.
00:02:03	There's no age limit on kids.
00:02:05	When they go
00:02:05	in, they can buy this stuff.
00:02:07	This stuff is dangerous
00:02:07	and particularly dangerous
00:02:10	in regard to children.
00:02:11	So we need to take
00:02:11	some action.
00:02:14	That same judge
00:02:14	also ruled against DeWine
00:02:17	and Republican state lawmakers
00:02:17	in blocking changes
00:02:20	the state Teachers
00:02:20	Retirement System Board.
00:02:22	A provision in the state
00:02:22	budget would have cut
00:02:24	the number of educators
00:02:24	seats on the 11 member board
00:02:27	from 7 to 3, with the rest
00:02:27	chosen by elected officials
00:02:31	or appointees.
00:02:32	Judge Carl LaVine said,
00:02:32	adding that to the budget
00:02:35	violated
00:02:35	the single subject rule
00:02:37	and shut down the changes,
00:02:37	as a lawsuit filed by three
00:02:40	educator unions moves forward.
00:02:42	A lawsuit filed
00:02:42	against the Ohio High School
00:02:44	Athletic Association
00:02:44	will force
00:02:46	a vote of member schools
00:02:48	on whether high school
00:02:48	athletes
00:02:49	can get paid for use of their
00:02:49	name, image and likeness.
00:02:53	The suit is on behalf of Jamir
00:02:53	Brown,
00:02:54	a wide receiver for Wayne
00:02:54	High School in Dayton
00:02:57	and one of the top football
00:02:57	players in the country.
00:02:59	He's verbally committed
00:02:59	to Ohio State in 2027,
00:03:03	and he's missing out on more
00:03:03	than $100,000 from Nil deals,
00:03:07	according to his Columbus
00:03:07	attorney, Luke Fiedler.
00:03:09	there are 44 states
00:03:10	across the country
00:03:10	in the District of Columbia
00:03:12	that allow for name, image,
00:03:12	and likeness
00:03:14	for high school student
00:03:14	athletes.
00:03:16	Ohio, unfortunately,
00:03:16	is not one of them.
00:03:18	And there's opportunities
00:03:18	for high school student
00:03:21	athletes here across the state
00:03:21	to be able
00:03:23	to earn compensation
00:03:23	from the use of their name,
00:03:27	image and likeness.
00:03:28	And this is a lawsuit that
00:03:28	focuses specifically on that.
00:03:32	Why do you
00:03:34	why are you looking at high
00:03:34	school athletes being paid?
00:03:37	I think people
00:03:37	have gotten comfortable
00:03:38	with the idea of college
00:03:38	athletes.
00:03:40	Profiting from their name,
00:03:40	image and likeness.
00:03:42	But high school students,
00:03:42	I mean,
00:03:43	how do you make that argument?
00:03:45	So again,
00:03:45	when when we think about name,
00:03:47	image and likeness,
00:03:47	it is the licensing
00:03:49	or the use of an individual's
00:03:49	name,
00:03:51	their image
00:03:51	and their likeness,
00:03:53	to a third party
00:03:53	for compensation.
00:03:56	And we have gotten
00:03:56	very comfortable
00:03:58	with it at the house,
00:03:58	at the college level
00:04:00	and at the high school level
00:04:00	over the past 2 to 3 years.
00:04:03	There are 44 states
00:04:03	that have authorized
00:04:05	and allowed their high school
00:04:05	student athletes
00:04:07	to engage in name, image
00:04:07	and likeness.
00:04:09	With Ohio
00:04:09	being one of just a handful,
00:04:12	very small handful of states,
00:04:13	that doesn't allow it, it
00:04:13	prohibits opportunities
00:04:16	to high school student
00:04:16	athletes.
00:04:17	Here, the more elite
00:04:17	those student athletes are,
00:04:20	the larger
00:04:21	the risk that they may then
00:04:22	go to another state
00:04:22	or somewhere outside of Ohio
00:04:26	to be able to earn
00:04:26	compensation,
00:04:27	based on their abilities.
00:04:29	And when we think about elite
00:04:29	high school athletes,
00:04:32	there's there's a lot
00:04:32	that it takes to be elite
00:04:35	from training
00:04:35	costs, recovery costs, etc.
00:04:38	and that can be a significant
00:04:38	strain on families.
00:04:41	And a lot of families
00:04:41	are struggling these days.
00:04:43	And so the opportunities
00:04:44	for student athletes
00:04:44	to be able to provide
00:04:46	back to their families
00:04:46	is significant.
00:04:48	We've seen it in 44
00:04:48	other states,
00:04:50	and hopefully soon
00:04:50	we'll see it in Ohio as well.
00:04:52	You're representing
00:04:52	the family of Jamir Brown,
00:04:54	who is obviously an elite
00:04:54	athlete here.
00:04:57	Is it your contention
00:04:58	that he has
00:04:58	these opportunities
00:05:00	that he could be earning money
00:05:00	even now?
00:05:03	These opportunities
00:05:03	exist for Mr.
00:05:05	Brown
00:05:05	and his family, currently.
00:05:07	And so that's
00:05:07	where the urgency exists.
00:05:10	And he's not alone.
00:05:11	There are other athletes
00:05:13	that if I say a word
00:05:13	to change their rules
00:05:16	and regulations,
00:05:16	their prohibition on nil
00:05:18	their other student
00:05:18	athletes across the state,
00:05:20	that we've had conversations
00:05:20	with them,
00:05:22	they would have immediate
00:05:22	opportunities
00:05:24	to be able
00:05:24	to earn compensation.
00:05:26	Mr. Brown is no different.
00:05:28	And how much compensation
00:05:28	are we talking about
00:05:30	if you put a dollar
00:05:30	figure on that?
00:05:32	So generally speaking,
00:05:32	there are opportunities right
00:05:35	now, that put him
00:05:35	well into the six figure mark.
00:05:38	So, the o h s I
00:05:41	member schools rejected
00:05:41	a proposal to allow student
00:05:44	athletes to profit off name,
00:05:44	image, and likeness in 2022.
00:05:48	Are you hoping that this
00:05:48	lawsuit will force that issue?
00:05:52	The hope really is
00:05:52	that this lawsuit does force
00:05:55	SA into changing
00:05:56	their regulations
00:05:56	and changing their bylaws
00:05:58	to allow for high school
00:05:58	student athletes
00:06:01	to earn compensation
00:06:01	from their Nil.
00:06:03	Are you in any sort
00:06:03	of negotiations with them
00:06:06	if they go ahead?
00:06:07	They had talked about doing
00:06:08	an emergency
00:06:08	referendum on Nil changes.
00:06:12	If they do that,
00:06:12	will that settle this lawsuit?
00:06:15	We've had conversations
00:06:15	with OHSU and their lawyers
00:06:18	and we're going to continue
00:06:18	those conversations.
00:06:20	We really look forward to
00:06:21	to coming to a resolution
00:06:21	that works for everyone.
00:06:25	And you know, without
00:06:25	getting into legal strategy,
00:06:28	our hope is that
00:06:28	this rule can change,
00:06:30	and that student athletes
00:06:30	across the state of Ohio
00:06:32	will be able to earn
00:06:32	that compensation through Nil.
00:06:35	Oh SA member schools
00:06:35	rejected allowing high school
00:06:38	athletes to get paid
00:06:38	for Nil deals in 2022.
00:06:42	The organization had planned
00:06:42	a vote on changing Nil rules
00:06:46	for next May.
00:06:47	Its executive
00:06:48	director said in a statement
00:06:48	that reads in part, quote,
00:06:51	we have been following
00:06:51	this situation closely
00:06:53	and have been preparing
00:06:53	for this situation.
00:06:56	We were hoping this would wait
00:06:57	for the referendum
00:06:57	voting period in May,
00:07:00	but as we told our schools
00:07:00	this fall,
00:07:02	the vote may have
00:07:02	to come sooner than that
00:07:04	due to a lawsuit which would
00:07:04	trigger the emergency vote.
00:07:07	We are prepared
00:07:07	to move forward
00:07:08	with our member schools
00:07:08	on this issue.
00:07:11	A spokesman clarified
00:07:11	that a date will be set
00:07:13	based on the time frame set
00:07:13	by the judge in the lawsuit.
00:07:17	Ohio's public
00:07:17	schools are still struggling
00:07:19	with a bus driver shortage.
00:07:21	That's gone on for years.
00:07:23	Before the pandemic, Ohio
00:07:23	had 25,706 active bus drivers.
00:07:28	By August of this year,
00:07:30	there were only 18,817 bus
00:07:30	drivers employed by schools.
00:07:35	Public schools are required
00:07:35	by law to transport
00:07:37	private school students.
00:07:39	More than 66,500
00:07:39	nonpublic and charter
00:07:42	school students were bussed
00:07:42	by public schools
00:07:45	in the 20 2324 school year,
00:07:45	which is the most recent data
00:07:48	available.
00:07:49	Some districts are now running
00:07:49	more routes
00:07:51	for nonpublic students
00:07:51	than their own students.
00:07:54	I talked with Doug Palmer,
00:07:54	the former transportation
00:07:57	consultant for the Ohio
00:07:57	School Boards Association,
00:08:00	about how the bus driver
00:08:00	shortage started and where
00:08:03	schools go from here,
00:08:03	we have an aging population.
00:08:08	Female bus drivers average
00:08:11	are 56 years old and male bus
00:08:11	drivers are 58 years old.
00:08:14	That's the average.
00:08:16	So how long can someone start?
00:08:18	I mean, if that's the average
00:08:20	you're going to have people
00:08:20	retire, you have people.
00:08:23	And as I get older too,
00:08:25	I realize that
00:08:25	I don't heal as fast.
00:08:27	It takes me longer to it
00:08:27	takes me longer to get better.
00:08:31	I have more things
00:08:31	wrong with me.
00:08:33	And so you're
00:08:33	just not available
00:08:35	as much as what you used to be
00:08:35	or want to be,
00:08:38	and you
00:08:38	hit on a really good topic
00:08:40	that I don't think anybody's
00:08:40	been talking about.
00:08:42	Actually, the
00:08:42	human cost of transportation.
00:08:46	Transportation departments,
00:08:48	their management,
00:08:48	the school bus drivers,
00:08:50	everyone involved
00:08:50	in transportation really feels
00:08:53	let down that
00:08:53	they can't do a better job.
00:08:56	I mean, it really, there's a
00:08:56	there's
00:08:57	a certain amount of burnout
00:08:57	that,
00:09:00	well, I can't do my job
00:09:00	the way I'm taught,
00:09:02	the way I'm trained,
00:09:02	the way I want to.
00:09:04	It's just really frustrating.
00:09:06	And it worries me that
00:09:10	people don't have their
00:09:12	bus route, their students,
00:09:12	their their children
00:09:15	at the top of mind. Right?
00:09:16	I mean, they're worried
00:09:16	about other things.
00:09:18	They're they're worried about
00:09:19	how many drivers
00:09:19	are showing up.
00:09:20	They're worried about an extra
00:09:20	trip in the afternoon.
00:09:23	I mean, it's it's quite
00:09:24	it's quite consuming
00:09:24	for these individuals.
00:09:27	You mentioned the age of bus
00:09:27	drivers.
00:09:29	The average age of bus
00:09:29	drivers is is creeping up.
00:09:32	What are some of
00:09:32	the other reasons
00:09:33	why we're in this position.
00:09:35	And really
00:09:37	it seemed like
00:09:37	it started with Covid,
00:09:38	but it didn't
00:09:38	start with Covid.
00:09:40	No, it started in 2018.
00:09:42	It really started in 2018.
00:09:44	That was when,
00:09:47	more stores, more more stores
00:09:47	started doing home delivery.
00:09:52	People that could drive,
00:09:53	want to drive for a living,
00:09:53	have other choices now.
00:09:56	And so that started to take
00:09:56	away from this the sub pool
00:10:00	the the substitute driver pool
00:10:00	that schools normally hired
00:10:04	regular drivers out of that
00:10:04	dried up in 2018 and 2019
00:10:09	and in 2020 with with everyone
00:10:09	now doing home delivery,
00:10:13	it just exacerbated
00:10:15	this driver shortage
00:10:15	because they're just there.
00:10:17	I mean, if you can make
00:10:17	the same amount of money
00:10:20	in 4 or 5 hours
00:10:20	in, in one shift from 4:00
00:10:24	in the afternoon to 8:00.
00:10:26	Why would you want to drive
00:10:26	a school bus
00:10:27	in half, start at 6:00
00:10:27	in the morning and be,
00:10:31	committed to 11 hour day
00:10:31	and not get off til 5:00.
00:10:34	And so
00:10:36	pay being
00:10:36	equal, the time frame
00:10:39	that people have to invest in
00:10:39	that is, is way less and and
00:10:44	while there are many benefits
00:10:44	to schools with retirement
00:10:47	and and dental and vision and
00:10:47	insurance that are available,
00:10:51	it just doesn't offset
00:10:51	people's, desire to,
00:10:55	to control their own schedule.
00:10:57	I mean, if they don't want
00:10:57	to drive on Tuesday afternoon,
00:10:59	they just tell Amazon or
00:10:59	or Kroger or or,
00:11:03	wherever they're driving for,
00:11:03	I don't want to drive.
00:11:05	And so, you know, they just
00:11:05	have more flexibility.
00:11:08	I think flexibility is really
00:11:08	the driving factor
00:11:11	that we can't get past
00:11:11	this driver shortage.
00:11:14	We can't we can't hire our way
00:11:14	out of the driver shortage.
00:11:17	Schools
00:11:17	are just reducing services.
00:11:21	And and that's
00:11:21	unfortunate for the children.
00:11:24	The last few years,
00:11:25	you've told me the districts
00:11:25	have been putting in place
00:11:27	all sorts of things
00:11:27	to try to fight the shortage.
00:11:29	Staff
00:11:29	that have commercial driver's
00:11:31	licenses have been driving
00:11:31	busses.
00:11:33	I've spoken to some directly,
00:11:33	some of used hiring bonuses,
00:11:37	finding other shifts
00:11:37	for drivers to work,
00:11:39	restructuring shifts
00:11:39	in the administrative offices.
00:11:42	Are these efforts just patches
00:11:45	or are they turning into
00:11:45	real solutions?
00:11:48	Well, they
00:11:48	if they look like a solution.
00:11:52	But then you have
00:11:52	a couple of drivers retire.
00:11:55	And in our retirement system
00:11:55	with school busses and school
00:12:00	employees retirement system,
00:12:00	you know,
00:12:02	you have a full credit
00:12:02	120 days into school.
00:12:06	So if you're waiting
00:12:06	for your 20th year
00:12:09	or your fifth year or your
00:12:09	10th year, and you get to that
00:12:12	and you get to that
00:12:12	in January, February,
00:12:15	a lot of drivers
00:12:15	retire at that time.
00:12:17	And then schools struggle
00:12:17	through the busiest season,
00:12:21	through spring.
00:12:22	And now the management
00:12:22	is just absolutely overwhelmed
00:12:26	with trying to cover the trips
00:12:28	and, and
00:12:28	recruiting and, and and
00:12:33	hiring
00:12:33	and all of that, promoting
00:12:35	all of that
00:12:35	goes by the wayside.
00:12:37	And then they lose the summer
00:12:37	to get people hired.
00:12:40	And trained.
00:12:40	And so it's it's a it's
00:12:40	a vicious cycle.
00:12:44	State law says public school
00:12:44	districts
00:12:47	have to transport their own
00:12:47	students up to eighth grade,
00:12:51	and private and voucher
00:12:51	school students as well.
00:12:53	So what's been the impact
00:12:55	of those nonpublic school
00:12:55	students?
00:12:57	Well,
00:12:59	the the impact of the
00:12:59	nonpublic school student
00:13:01	is that
00:13:02	the school can't control
00:13:02	when that buildings, when that
00:13:05	when they want to go to school
00:13:05	and most private
00:13:10	and nonpublic
00:13:10	and community schools,
00:13:12	they want to start around
00:13:12	8:00.
00:13:13	Everybody wants to start
00:13:13	around 8:00.
00:13:15	Nobody wants to start at 10:00
00:13:17	when there's busses available.
00:13:18	So there's that time crunch
00:13:18	that everybody wants to go
00:13:22	at the same time.
00:13:23	And also
00:13:23	if you look at traffic,
00:13:26	oh my gosh, every morning
00:13:28	our busses are operating
00:13:28	in the peak traffic flow.
00:13:31	So just that alone
00:13:31	causes delays and extra time
00:13:36	it takes to run routes.
00:13:37	And so there's a lot of
00:13:37	competing factors
00:13:40	for drivers time
00:13:40	in getting the kids to school.
00:13:43	And also when you start
00:13:43	adding new schools on
00:13:46	to routes that makes routes
00:13:46	longer, right.
00:13:49	It does.
00:13:49	And then how do you do that?
00:13:51	Do you
00:13:51	do you bring all the kids in
00:13:53	from the community
00:13:53	and sort them out of building,
00:13:56	or do you run different busses
00:13:56	through the community
00:13:58	and try to pick them up at,
00:14:00	you know,
00:14:01	sort them at their house
00:14:03	instead of sorting them
00:14:03	at a, at a hub or a location.
00:14:06	But what the problem is, is
00:14:06	when you bring all the kids
00:14:08	into school,
00:14:09	the nonpublic students
00:14:09	need to be supervised
00:14:11	during these bus transfers.
00:14:14	All buildings are short
00:14:14	staffed.
00:14:15	You know, we're short
00:14:15	staffed on aides,
00:14:17	we're short
00:14:17	staffed in administration.
00:14:20	They're we're trying
00:14:20	to do more and more with
00:14:23	and try to make the dollars
00:14:23	in school funding stretch.
00:14:25	And and so this becomes
00:14:25	a real,
00:14:29	situation where it's it's
00:14:29	not just one thing.
00:14:32	It's many things put together.
00:14:34	You have heard the idea
00:14:34	of maybe
00:14:35	a hub and spoke system
00:14:37	where you bring kids
00:14:37	to one building
00:14:38	and then you send them out
00:14:38	to different areas.
00:14:40	But that potentially means
00:14:40	longer time on busses
00:14:44	for kids, right?
00:14:45	And more staff to make sure
00:14:46	that kids are all getting
00:14:46	where they want to go.
00:14:48	So they need a ride.
00:14:50	The right
00:14:50	time is about the same.
00:14:52	But but parents and community,
00:14:52	and some teachers
00:14:56	really don't like the idea
00:14:56	that kids are switching busses
00:15:00	and not going directly.
00:15:03	Once the once the teacher puts
00:15:03	the child on a bus
00:15:06	and that bus goes to a hub,
00:15:09	that teacher
00:15:09	doesn't feel comfortable
00:15:10	that that child
00:15:10	is able to navigate
00:15:12	getting to their bus
00:15:12	to go home on.
00:15:14	And so there's
00:15:14	a lot of anxiety around
00:15:18	children switching busses.
00:15:20	I ran a district
00:15:20	that did that,
00:15:23	but I will tell you that
00:15:24	children catch on very quickly
00:15:24	within 5 or 6 days.
00:15:27	They're looking
00:15:27	for their friends.
00:15:29	They're not looking
00:15:29	for the bus numbers anymore.
00:15:31	They're looking
00:15:31	for their friends.
00:15:33	They know how to
00:15:33	get to where they're going.
00:15:36	And then there are the
00:15:38	nonpublic students, parents
00:15:38	who feel like,
00:15:41	well, I don't want my children
00:15:42	riding
00:15:42	with the public students,
00:15:43	but yet they live
00:15:43	in the same community.
00:15:46	And so I, I don't understand
00:15:46	I just don't think that's the
00:15:52	I don't think that we have
00:15:52	a lot of understanding
00:15:56	from the practice side on how
00:15:56	this all really can work
00:15:59	and how it does work.
00:16:01	If you and other school
00:16:01	transportation
00:16:04	officials, people who have
00:16:04	expertise in this area,
00:16:07	have you shared information
00:16:08	about the school bus
00:16:08	driver shortage
00:16:10	that you're seeing with state
00:16:10	lawmakers?
00:16:13	We have, yes.
00:16:14	But I'm not sure
00:16:14	that they understand.
00:16:18	I'm not sure that they have
00:16:18	a full
00:16:19	understanding of what
00:16:19	that driver shortage is.
00:16:22	It's not just
00:16:22	the number of drivers, it's
00:16:26	the number of drivers
00:16:26	available.
00:16:27	So if you have someone go off
00:16:27	on FMLA or a long illness,
00:16:31	you have to have a substitute
00:16:31	to keep that route running.
00:16:34	And like I said,
00:16:34	the substitute driver pool
00:16:36	that dried up in 2018
00:16:36	and 2019.
00:16:39	And now we've got mechanics
00:16:39	and we've got, maintenance
00:16:42	staff,
00:16:42	we've got custodial staff.
00:16:44	We have we have secretaries.
00:16:47	Don't they all
00:16:47	had a job for a reason too.
00:16:50	So everybody, everybody gets,
00:16:50	you know,
00:16:54	really anxious about well,
00:16:55	I don't have time
00:16:55	to do my own work now
00:16:56	because I'm driving a bus
00:16:56	for four hours a day.
00:16:58	I'm filling this.
00:16:59	And so there's there's,
00:16:59	there is a large human cost
00:17:03	in school systems to
00:17:03	to having not enough drivers.
00:17:06	Also,
00:17:07	there's been a suggestion
00:17:07	that districts are
00:17:08	not managing their resources
00:17:08	wisely.
00:17:12	Each district gets $1,500
00:17:12	per child for transportation,
00:17:16	but you've got,
00:17:17	at least one district
00:17:17	that has been offering cash
00:17:19	payments
00:17:19	of between 600 and $1200
00:17:22	to transport for families to
00:17:22	transport their own children.
00:17:25	That's less than what they're
00:17:25	getting from the state.
00:17:29	Our district's
00:17:29	managing that money wisely.
00:17:32	So if you look at the funding
00:17:32	flow from the state,
00:17:37	the funding flow
00:17:37	from the state says,
00:17:40	we're going to pay you
00:17:41	on either ridership or miles
00:17:41	for regular transportation.
00:17:45	And then there
00:17:45	and then they give you a
00:17:48	minimum of 48
00:17:48	or 45.83% this year.
00:17:54	So you get less than half
00:17:54	of what it actually
00:17:57	cost to transport the child.
00:18:00	So the children
00:18:00	that are deemed impractical,
00:18:04	there's no payment at all to
00:18:04	the school district for the.
00:18:09	There used to be,
00:18:09	when the minimum
00:18:13	was $250 for payment
00:18:13	in lieu of transportation.
00:18:17	The state reimbursed
00:18:17	the district's $187 of that.
00:18:21	So the so there was funding
00:18:21	from the state
00:18:24	to the school to the parents.
00:18:26	Well, now,
00:18:26	the state has eliminated
00:18:29	that payment
00:18:29	for payment in lieu of.
00:18:31	So the the whole payment
00:18:31	is for the for the district.
00:18:36	There is no funding flow
00:18:38	for that student
00:18:38	that doesn't ride a bus
00:18:41	that they in fact,
00:18:41	last week was car week.
00:18:45	They did a count.
00:18:45	They counted
00:18:45	the students in the miles
00:18:48	and whatever
00:18:48	the highest cost was.
00:18:51	That's what the state
00:18:51	would reimburse off of either
00:18:54	state share or the 48, 45.83%.
00:18:59	And I've heard superintendents
00:18:59	say that
00:19:01	the state
00:19:01	has never fully made district
00:19:05	whole in terms of paying for
00:19:05	those transportation costs,
00:19:09	but you've estimated to me
00:19:09	that, going back to 2009,
00:19:13	districts
00:19:13	have been forced to absorb
00:19:14	approximately $1.68
00:19:14	billion in capital costs.
00:19:18	Can you explain that? Well,
00:19:21	previously, the state
00:19:21	always funded bus purchases.
00:19:25	In fact, at one time
00:19:25	the state would buy
00:19:28	a school district a bus
00:19:29	if they were going to operate
00:19:29	that for nonpublic use.
00:19:32	So if you had a route
00:19:32	that was that,
00:19:35	that the school was running
00:19:35	for the nonpublic students,
00:19:39	the state would buy
00:19:39	that district a bus to,
00:19:39	to operate, to operate.
00:19:43	Well, that all, all of the bus
00:19:43	funding went away in 2009.
00:19:47	So the districts have 100% had
00:19:47	this capital cost
00:19:51	placed on them no matter what
00:19:51	the busses being used for. So
00:19:56	and there's no
00:19:57	funding
00:19:57	reimbursement for that bus.
00:20:00	And so
00:20:02	if you were running a business
00:20:02	and you bought a
00:20:04	piece of machinery,
00:20:06	you could
00:20:06	deduct the depreciation, you
00:20:06	could deduct the loss of value
00:20:10	from your profit.
00:20:12	And then, you know,
00:20:13	that was looked
00:20:13	at as a cost of business.
00:20:15	But there's no depreciation
00:20:15	schedule.
00:20:18	There's nothing
00:20:19	there is nothing available
00:20:20	for districts
00:20:20	to use to increase funding
00:20:23	or to increase the cost
00:20:23	of transporting a student
00:20:25	to be reimbursed
00:20:25	at the same percentage
00:20:28	Kentucky
00:20:28	does, Pennsylvania does.
00:20:31	They have a depreciation
00:20:31	schedule
00:20:32	that's factored into the cost
00:20:33	of the transportation
00:20:33	of the students.
00:20:35	And then
00:20:36	and that is a funding flow
00:20:36	back to the districts based on
00:20:41	7%, or 8% or 5%, whatever the
00:20:45	whatever they determine,
00:20:45	the loss of value of that bus
00:20:48	is for each year.
00:20:50	So all
00:20:50	this comes back on districts
00:20:50	that are just trying
00:20:52	to get all students
00:20:52	that they are required
00:20:54	to transport safely to where
00:20:56	they're required
00:20:56	to transport them to.
00:20:59	I want to ask you,
00:20:59	there's been a suggestion
00:21:01	that the state could pay
00:21:01	private or nonpublic schools
00:21:06	or somebody else directly
00:21:06	to provide transportation.
00:21:09	Removing public schools from
00:21:09	the transportation equation.
00:21:14	Is that something that school
00:21:14	transportation
00:21:16	officials
00:21:16	that you know, would support?
00:21:17	Is there a downside to that?
00:21:19	So the school transportation
00:21:19	officials
00:21:22	absolutely would support that.
00:21:24	In fact, I've been working
00:21:24	with a large school district,
00:21:29	and they are helping
00:21:29	two of the nonpublic schools
00:21:32	that are doing transportation.
00:21:34	They're doing all they can
00:21:34	to help them
00:21:36	be successful
00:21:36	with their own transportation.
00:21:39	There's a lot of laws,
00:21:39	there's a lot of rules,
00:21:41	there's a lot of regulations.
00:21:42	And and I'm open to helping
00:21:42	nonpublic schools to if,
00:21:46	if they need help,
00:21:46	understanding all of the comp,
00:21:50	all of the compliance issues
00:21:50	for drivers,
00:21:52	all of the compliance issues
00:21:52	for school busses,
00:21:55	that's one of the reasons
00:21:56	from SBA is
00:21:56	why I retired early
00:21:58	I want to help school
00:21:58	districts,
00:22:00	no matter whether it's private
00:22:00	or public or community,
00:22:02	get children
00:22:02	on the school bus.
00:22:04	And I think
00:22:04	that's really important.
00:22:06	Do you think the days of
00:22:08	expecting a full time
00:22:08	bus driver take your student
00:22:11	from your home to the school
00:22:11	and back home?
00:22:14	Are are
00:22:14	are those
00:22:14	really dramatically changing,
00:22:17	or is that a realistic
00:22:18	expectation for a parent
00:22:18	in the school district,
00:22:21	whether they're sending their
00:22:21	kid to a charter school
00:22:21	or they're using a voucher,
00:22:24	they're going to public
00:22:24	school, whatever.
00:22:26	I think those days
00:22:26	are really good old days.
00:22:30	And I think the new situation
00:22:30	that we're in is that school
00:22:34	districts will have to
00:22:34	stretch, resources
00:22:37	will have to be flexible
00:22:37	with what they can do.
00:22:40	One community might be bussed
00:22:40	differently
00:22:43	than another community.
00:22:44	One. One community
00:22:44	might be direct rooted,
00:22:47	another community might be hub
00:22:47	and spoke
00:22:48	even in the same school
00:22:48	district, even in, you know,
00:22:51	even if the school boundaries
00:22:51	touch each other.
00:22:53	I think having one solution
00:22:53	for every district
00:22:57	and every section
00:22:57	of the district,
00:22:59	I think
00:22:59	that's gone by the wayside.
00:23:01	All right.
00:23:02	Anything else you want to add?
00:23:04	So in the last eight years,
00:23:09	the cost per child of
00:23:09	depreciation has gone from,
00:23:13	well, if you go back to 2009,
00:23:16	it was $53 a student.
00:23:19	You go and then you,
00:23:21	go forward
00:23:21	and then just go back eight
00:23:23	years from today.
00:23:24	So 2017,
00:23:24	it was about $80 a student.
00:23:28	Right now
00:23:29	we're at $166 a student
00:23:29	of cost of depreciation
00:23:32	of the school bus.
00:23:33	That's the riders.
00:23:34	And that's not every student
00:23:34	in the building.
00:23:37	That's the riders trips.
00:23:39	So the other thing is
00:23:41	we used to transport
00:23:41	nearly a million students.
00:23:45	We're down to transporting
00:23:45	only about 720,000 now.
00:23:49	So and our state hasn't lost
00:23:49	that many
00:23:52	as far as population.
00:23:55	So that tells a story
00:23:55	that districts
00:23:58	are eliminating riders,
00:24:00	which means
00:24:01	children have different ways
00:24:01	to get to school
00:24:03	that aren't as safe
00:24:03	as a school bus.
00:24:05	But with fewer
00:24:05	students to transport,
00:24:06	you still have a school bus
00:24:06	driver shortage?
00:24:09	Yes, because you just don't
00:24:10	have the
00:24:10	time and distance to cover.
00:24:13	You know, that's
00:24:13	the that's the hard part.
00:24:15	You think that, well,
00:24:16	if you're not transporting
00:24:17	as many students,
00:24:17	but you still have
00:24:19	every square mile
00:24:19	in the state to cover,
00:24:21	you know,
00:24:21	I mean, it's just it's,
00:24:24	I like to tease my,
00:24:24	supervisors that I deal with.
00:24:27	I say it's not rocket science,
00:24:28	but it is all time and space.
00:24:30	Republican Senator
00:24:30	Andrew Brenner,
00:24:32	who chairs the Senate
00:24:32	Education Committee,
00:24:34	told me
00:24:34	he's talked to superintendents
00:24:36	who would prefer
00:24:36	another transportation option.
00:24:39	And perhaps countywide
00:24:39	systems would work better.
00:24:42	But he said
00:24:42	there would have to be
00:24:43	a major
00:24:43	public discussion on this,
00:24:45	and whatever might result
00:24:47	would be phased
00:24:47	in over a few years.
00:24:50	And that is it for this week
00:24:50	for my colleagues
00:24:51	at the Statehouse News
00:24:51	Bureau of Ohio Public Media.
00:24:53	Thanks for watching.
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Note : Transcripts are compiled from uncorrected captions