LORAIN, Ohio — The Lorain City School District is working to move all of its transportation services in-house by the end of the 2025-2026 school year.
The district started outsourcing some of its transportation a little over 10 years ago. It relied on private transportation companies to transport homeless students, students with special needs, and students with after-school activities or care.
Over the years, the distance to pick up these students has increased, and the cost of transportation has risen. Superintendent Jeff Graham said the district gathered a team to strategize how to bring all transportation completely in-house.
Graham and the district estimate the changes could save the district $1 million a year.
"We were in a situation very recently where we needed to account for $10 million a year," Graham said. "So, bringing the transportation in-house has been a huge, huge savings for us. I think it's the most respectful thing for our taxpayers."
A few privatized routes will be in place this school year, but those contracts are set to expire at the end of the school year.
The district is also making adjustments to the start and end times to improve efficiency this school year. Those times will be finalized soon, and parents will get an alert through the district's notification system.
