Volusia County charter schools lack district transportation, scramble to find solutions

In May, Volusia County Schools ended its transportation contract with district charter schools, forcing principals to scramble at the last minute.

“We were pretty shocked at Ivy Hawn,” said Principal Danielle Suhr. “That they would call in, not only to not renew the contract for the following school year, but also the timing. It was very late to notify us of that change, so we were pretty stuck in that regard.”

Daniel Hargrave, middle and high school principal at Burns Science and Technology Charter School, said the short notice was especially burdensome.

“The best practice would be to give the district at least six months to a year to develop a transportation plan and to get the equipment to run the transportation,” he said. “They gave us way less than what would be recommended if they were asked to provide transportation for a charter school, so they knew they would put us in a bind. And these are Volusia County public school students. We’re not a private school. We are a public school.”

Volusia no longer provides student transportation to charter schools because of staffing shortages, and “the necessity to provide transportation to our traditional public schools,” said Danielle Johnson, Volusia’s director of Community Information Services, in an email.

Ivy Hawn, Burns Science and Technology, The Chiles Academy, Reading Edge Academy and Easter Seals all used Volusia County Schools transportation during the 2022-23 school year, according to Johnson. Richard Milburn and Samsula academies did not use district bus transportation, so they were not impacted by the change.

“Some of the charter schools, such as Ivy Hawn and Burns Science & Technology, are now using funds they earmarked for transportation through VCS and instead are utilizing those funds for a private bus company to provide transportation,” Johnson said in an email. “PACE Center for Girls and Richard Milburn Academy also both received Votran passes through VCS.”

When asked how the district assisted with the transition, Johnson said, "Charter school principals were sent a letter this summer with two agencies who could potentially provide assistance."

The charter schools’ leaders agreed that Volusia County Schools has maintained general communication throughout the process but has not played an active role in assisting throughout the transition.

Principals impacted by the change met over the summer to discuss how they would proceed. Since each school uses transportation differently, their solutions varied.

Ivy Hawn and Burns Science and Technology

Ivy Hawn and Burns Science and Technology were hit the hardest when the district changed its transportation plans because they had the most students relying on school buses.

“Without the transportation from Volusia County Schools, we had to try and find a company to offer transportation services,” Suhr said. “It’s not as easy as just purchasing a bus because then you have to have drivers and training and a mechanic and somewhere to store the bus and fuel the bus. So there’s a lot that goes into school transportation.”

After running through a gamut of restrictions and obstacles, the two schools eventually found a company to service their needs, but it came with a great expense and a long ride for students.

“We met with them three weeks before school started, and they told us that it would take at least 40 to 60 days to get the bus driver on route, to get all the kids organized, to do all those kinds of things,” Hargrave said. “And our staff and their staff worked really closely together, and they actually had it ready for the first day of school, which I cannot believe. They got it ready in three weeks. It is unbelievable.”

Last year, Burns Science and Technology used four buses. Now, they can only afford to have two. But they still have four routes.

“They go out and get the students, and bring them in, and then they have to go out again and get a different load of students and bring them in,” he said.

The routes are determined by students’ home locations. Students who live closer get picked up first, and students who live farther out are transported second. As a result, some students arrive at school "extremely" early and have to say "extremely" late, according to Hargrave. Burns teachers and administrators also have to stay late to supervise those students.

“It’s a little more of an inconvenience,” he said. “But we’re at least able to provide the services.”

As for Ivy Hawn, the transportation contract change impacted the school budget.

The school receives about $600 for each student who rides the school bus each year, according to Suhr. She explained that for a bus that is extremely full and transports 72 kids, the school receives $43,200. But Ivy Hawn's contract for that single bus is over $100,000.

“Unfortunately, it did affect our personnel here at Ivy Hawn, not only teaching but also our support staff,” Suhr said. “At the end of last school year, we had to make some really hard decisions, and it unfortunately did affect a few of our classes that we no longer offer.”

Additionally, there are now less students using school buses. Last year, about 200 students took the bus to school. Now, since it takes close to an hour and a half to transport all students, many families are choosing to transport their own children and utilize carpool systems.

“I think it’s important for everyone to realize that we are a public school. So even though we’re a charter, we’re still publicly funded the exact same way that other public schools are funded,” Suhr said. “At the end of the day, they’re all Volusia County kids, and all of our students then go on to Volusia County high schools, so it’s just disappointing that we couldn’t work together to find a solution on this issue.”

The Chiles Academy

The Chiles Academy is one of Volusia’s smaller charter schools. It serves pregnant and parenting students striving to earn a high school diploma. It also provides child care.

“We’ve been able to kind of piecemeal together individualized plans with families on how to get their students to us,” said Abby Ferguson, The Chiles Academy principal.

The school offers gas cards to parents who can drive students to school.

Since the start of the school year, The Chiles Academy has spent $1,500 on gas cards — according to Ferguson — all of which is coming from the school's operating budget. She said state transportation funds do not cover the cost of providing families with gas cards.

“The value is about half the amount that the parents were paying, so we essentially split the gas cost with our families,” Ferguson said. “And we’ve actually increased the amount of the gas cards' dollar value because of not only the increase in cost of fuel, but also because more of our parents are driving.”

The school has also reimbursed students for using rideshare programs and has offered students Votran bus passes if they live locally.

Ferguson said this change has created barriers. Some prospective students have been unable to enroll at The Chiles Academy because they do not have a consistent transportation plan. She said this not only prevents young parents from continuing their education with Volusia County Schools and earning a high school diploma, but it also impacts a student’s ability to access childcare.

“We have action plans that are created for each student, and we have a set of options that we try to offer, and we try to be as flexible as possible,” Ferguson said. “But it doesn't work in all cases, and we really used to rely on the school bus as an option for students who were already used to taking transportation through the Volusia County School system. So now that we’re no longer operating in that system, it just is another hoop that a young parent has to jump through, which is unfortunate.”

Reading Edge Academy

Reading Edge Academy is an elementary-level charter school that provides a strong foundation in all core subjects while instilling a love for reading among students.

The charter typically hosts two field studies for each grade every year; however, due to the recent transportation changes, this year, the school will only be able to conduct one field study per grade.

“Because we have no contract with the district for transportation, they’re not going to allow transportation for a field trip without a contract,” said Principal Sue Smith. “Our fifth-graders will not be participating in the Orlando Philharmonic concert activity that every other fifth-grader in the district is participating in because we don’t have district transportation. The expense for a luxury bus like a charter bus to do that would be more than I think our families could afford for such a trip over there.”

Smith noted that some families have withdrawn from Reading Edge Academy, and she is nervous others will follow suit.

Charter school principals, including Smith, are concerned that the district will continue cutting ties with charter schools.

“I don’t think transportation is going to be the only place that we see disconnect between the district and its charter schools,” Smith said. “In a sense, it’s just the start of the relationship between us and the school district that we’re more on our own.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia abruptly ends transportation contract with charter schools