Vermilion Suspends Bus Service for Grades 9–12 Students
High school students in Vermilion, Ohio, will need to find alternative transportation when they return to school on August 21. Vermilion Local Schools has announced a temporary suspension of school bus service for students in grades 9 through 12, citing a worsening shortage of qualified drivers.
Superintendent David Hile informed families in an email that the decision was made out of necessity, as the district can no longer maintain enough bus routes to serve all students. The driver shortage has reached a “critical point,” Hile said, after the district lost a mechanic in the spring, another to retirement, and a third to resignation just last week. One of the remaining drivers is also now medically unable to continue working.
The district, which once operated 18 routes, has been reduced to just 12. Even the director of transportation and school bus mechanics has been behind the wheel in recent months to fill the gap.
About 520 students will be affected by the suspension of service. Bus transportation will still be provided for students traveling from Vermilion High School to EHOVE Career Center, and the change does not impact younger students.
The bus driver shortage isn’t unique to Vermilion. Hile noted that school districts across Ohio and the country are struggling to hire and retain qualified drivers. A report by the Economic Policy Institute highlighted that there were 12.2 percent fewer school bus drivers nationally in 2023 than in 2019, and wages have not kept pace. School bus drivers earned 43 percent less than the median weekly wage for all U.S. workers last year.
Hile emphasized the difficulty of filling the position, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic and amid rising minimum wages. Becoming a school bus driver requires a commercial driver’s license (CDL), at least four written exams, a bus driving test, 15 hours of classroom instruction, and 12 hours of behind-the-wheel training. All of this occurs before an applicant can begin earning a paycheck.
“It’s a job that asks a lot up front,” Hile said. “Most jobs don’t require you to get a CDL, 27 hours of instruction, and then drive a bus with 40 children behind you.”
Pay ranges between $20 and $24.45 an hour, and while the job offers excellent health care and retirement benefits, the part-time nature of the work makes it difficult for many people to commit.
Despite efforts over the summer to recruit drivers, including parking buses at prominent locations with banners advertising open positions, the district has seen little success in attracting new applicants.
Hile is hopeful the suspension will be temporary and that service will resume once staffing levels improve.
Transportation is not just a convenience; it is a critical part of a child’s right to access education. Without reliable transportation, students risk falling behind or being placed in unsafe circumstances. Every child deserves a safe, consistent way to get to school. Addressing the root causes of the driver shortage is essential to ensuring that right is upheld.
