Behind the Buses: What’s Really Happening Between the City of Dayton and the School Board

At first glance, it looked like a response to a tragedy. But beneath the surface, it was a political move—one that said more about protecting businesses than protecting kids.

This is the real story behind Dayton’s school transportation fight—and how a tragedy is being used to push a policy that doesn’t work, wasn’t funded, and wasn’t made with the people most affected.

It Began with a Tragedy

On March 20, 2025, Alfred Hale, an 18-year-old senior at Dunbar High School, was shot and killed near the downtown RTA transit hub. He was waiting for the bus to school. According to police, he was shot outside of the In-And-Out store on South Jefferson Street. He later died at the hospital.

We pause here because this is not just a story about systems—it's about a child who was loved, whose future was cut short. Alfred mattered. And his family deserves our deepest compassion and respect.

But instead of collaboration and problem-solving in the wake of Alfred’s death, a political stage was set via a press conference.

A Political Press Conference—Without the People Who Matter

When 18-year-old Alfred Hale was tragically killed while waiting for a bus to school, our city had an opportunity to grieve together and build lasting solutions.

Instead, what we got was a press conference—a staged performance in front of cameras, where Mayor Jeffrey Mims Jr., alongside State Reps Phil Plummer and Tom Young, announced a policy to ban student transfers at the downtown RTA hub and require yellow bus transportation for all public high school students.

➡️ Watch the press conference

It looked like leadership.It sounded like a plan.But for those of us who’ve been here before, we knew exactly what it was:

Another policy aimed at pushing urban kids out of sight—not protecting them.

This Wasn’t About Safety. This Was About Image.

Let’s be clear—this wasn’t a transportation announcement. It was a redirection of responsibility, and it specifically targets students in Ohio’s urban districts, where public systems are underfunded, overstretched, and historically underserved.

And those impacted mostly Black and brown students. Working-class students. City kids.

Let’s talk about who was at the mic:

🧍🏽 Mayor Jeffrey Mims Jr. (Democrat)

As a former educator and school board member, he knows exactly what resources Dayton Public Schools has—and what it doesn’t. He knew DPS couldn’t magically roll out a new bus system.

But instead of calling for coordination, or fighting for more state funds, he stood next to the very people who’ve consistently undermined public schools—to propose a policy with no funding and no plan.

And most importantly:No invitation to DPS Board of Education. No presence from RTA. No voices from students or families.

Because this wasn’t about fixing the system.It was about moving the “problem” out of downtown.

🧍🏻 Rep. Phil Plummer & 🧍🏻 Rep. Tom Young (Republicans)

These state reps have long pushed bills that:

• Drain resources from public schools through charter and voucher expansions

• Strip local control from urban school districts

• Undercut transportation equity through unfunded mandates

Now they want to rebrand as protectors of public school students—while backing a budget amendment that:

• Offers no new transportation funds

• Places impossible burdens on urban districts only

• And ignores suburban and rural systems entirely

This isn’t about statewide safety.This is a targeted attempt to remove urban youth—especially Black and brown teens—from the public eye.

A Pattern Across Ohio

This amendment isn’t isolated.

It follows a pattern we’ve seen across Ohio:

• Attacks on DEI and culturally responsive education

• Charter expansion at the expense of urban public districts

• Laws that strip local school boards of decision-making power

• Public transit and public schools being scapegoated for systemic neglect

And now, when something tragic happens—not because of the school or the bus system, but because of deeper community violence—they pass the blame to the nearest Black institution and call it reform.

The Message Was Clear

To the young people of Dayton, the message from that press conference was not, “We care about your safety.”It was:“We care about how your presence makes downtown feel.”

This is how policy becomes policing.This is how “security” becomes segregation. This is how urban kids get hurt twice—once by the violence, and again by the system’s response to it.

The Real Reason for the Mandate?

Here’s what they didn’t say out loud:This wasn’t just about students. It was about real estate. It was about business. It was about image.

For years, downtown Dayton business leaders have complained—quietly and sometimes publicly—about the number of teenagers congregating at the RTA hub. They’ve used coded language like “safety,” “loitering,” or “customer experience,” but behind those words is a deeper truth:

They didn’t want urban students visible in the city’s center.

Not because those students were violent.Not because they were causing mass disruption.But because their presence—Black, brown, loud, laughing, joking, tired, hoodie-wearing, backpack-carrying—didn’t fit the vision of Dayton’s downtown “revitalization.”

This Mandate Was About Control, Not Care

Sources close to the matter confirm what community members have long suspected:

• This policy push wasn’t drafted in a classroom, a transit office, or a school board meeting.

• It was born in boardrooms and business breakfasts, where executives asked city leaders to make downtown more “comfortable.”

• And when Alfred Hale’s death gave them the moment, they moved—fast.

Instead of asking why students gather at the hub,Instead of investing in after-school programming, safe spaces, or more thoughtful transit infrastructure,They chose to ban the students themselves.

This is displacement masquerading as policy.

A Familiar Pattern

We’ve seen this playbook before—and Dayton knows it well.

It starts with the language of “safety” and “progress.” But behind those words is a pattern of pushing out rather than building up. A pattern of shrinking public space, displacing community, and removing youth from view.

Here’s how it looks:

• Remove benches so people can’t sit.

• Put locks on outlets so youth can’t charge their phones.

• Call in police instead of building trust.

• Move transfer points from downtown—not because they’re unsafe, but because they’re unwanted.

• Close the majority of community centers across the city, especially in predominantly Black and working-class neighborhoods.

• Fill in public pools with cement—instead of repairing them—robbing youth of summer recreation and safety.

• Shut down the city golf course closest to West Side families, cutting off one of the few accessible outdoor green spaces in a historically underserved part of town.

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Each time, it’s framed as cost-saving or modernization.But the result is the same: our kids lose space. Our community loses voice.

Who Pays the Price?

The ones asked to adjust?Dayton Public Schools.

The ones left out of the conversation?The students and families affected.

The ones bearing the burden?Urban kids—again.

Let’s be real:When you remove transit access without offering real alternatives, you’re not solving anything.You’re just shifting the weight to the backs of young people who already carry too much.

And when you do it in the name of “safety,” but don’t even invite the school or the RTA into the room, it becomes clear—

This was never about what’s best for the students.It was about what’s most convenient for the city’s investors.

Superintendent David Lawrence said it best:

“What I would like to see from some of the representatives is this same level of concern when a child is killed outside of downtown Dayton where businesses are.”Source: WYSO - https://www.wyso.org/

The Unspoken Reality

Here’s what the public wasn’t told:

• DPS already uses RTA because it can’t afford yellow buses for all high schoolers.

• By law, DPS must also transport students from 30+ charter and private schools.

• Ohio reimburses less than 40% of actual transportation costs—about $600 per student, while DPS pays closer to $1,500–$1,800 per student.

• No new money was offered. No plan was shared with RTA.

• RTA has made no public statement.

DPS Clapped Back

Board Member Eric Walker called out the politics directly:

Board President Dr. Chrisondra Goodwine released a detailed statement:

Buried in the Budget—With No Enforcement Plan

Even more disturbing: this policy wasn’t proposed through open legislation—it was tucked into a state budget amendment with no debate, no public hearings, and no realistic enforcement strategy.

Let’s be honest:

• How do you stop students from transferring at a public bus hub?

• Are bus drivers now expected to ask for student IDs?

• Will police be called to enforce the rule?

• What happens to students who miss their direct bus or need to transfer due to schedule changes?

  
  

No one has said. Because the point wasn’t to fix the problem—it was to pass the blame.

A City Divided

• Commissioner Shenise Turner-Sloss took a principled stand, calling for real partnership and youth investment

  ➡️ https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18koBCdeqe/

• Commissioner Chris Shaw, however, demanded the school board take actions they legally can’t afford to take—adding political heat, not actual solutions

  
  

  ➡️ https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15KQiHyPWt/

  
  

And then there’s the political contradiction:Mayor Mims, a Democrat and former school board member, stood with Republicans who consistently vote against public school funding.

How can you claim to support public education—while aligning with the same legislators who are working to defund it?

So What Now, Dayton?

We can’t afford to be silent—and we can’t afford to be naïve.

Let’s be honest:If nothing changes, here’s what’s coming:

• Students will be stranded or late due to unrealistic transit rules.

• DPS will be blamed for failing to implement a policy it was never equipped to carry out.

• Charter schools—many of which don’t transport their own students—will continue to benefit from public school resources.

• More urban youth will be pushed out of sight—from downtown, from public spaces, and from decision-making conversations.

• And the next time tragedy strikes, we’ll be right back here again—talking around the problem instead of fixing it.

  
  

But it doesn’t have to go that way.

Dayton has the power to change course—if we act together.

The Final Act: When Policy Becomes Performance

When you look at the press conference, the budget amendment, and the silence from some of the most powerful voices in the room, one thing becomes clear:

This was never about protecting students. It was about protecting power.

And everyone played their part:

• Mayor Jeffrey Mims Jr. played the role of the problem-solver—while standing beside the very people who’ve worked to defund the system he once helped lead.

• Rep. Phil Plummer and Rep. Tom Young played the role of protectors—while quietly backing policy after policy that undercuts public education, local control, and urban communities.

• Downtown business leaders played the role of concerned citizens—when what they really wanted was to sanitize downtown for investors.

• And the state of Ohio played the oldest role of all—using a tragedy to justify a solution that was already written in the backroom.

But here’s what they didn’t plan for:Dayton is watching. And Dayton is remembering.

We remember who was silent.We remember who stood beside whom.We remember who showed up for our kids—and who used them as props.

This is not just a local transportation issue.It is a test of leadership.A test of courage.And a test of how much we’re willing to let political convenience outweigh the lives of our children.

If You Take Nothing Else From This…

• This story didn’t start with Alfred’s death. It started with disinvestment, disrespect, and political gamesmanship.

• The solution isn’t yellow buses. The solution is shared responsibility, real investment, and listening to the people closest to the problem.

• And if we’re going to protect students, we must first stop punishing them.

We are not asking for perfection.We are demanding protection.

Because what’s at stake isn’t a headline—it’s the everyday lives of urban kids who deserve more than rhetoric.

Dayton has a choice.Keep playing roles.Or finally start rewriting the script.