The Amherst Exempted Village School's Transportation Department is committed to providing safe and dependable transportation to all children whether they attend a district school, community school, special education facility, and vocational school. Getting students to and from school every day is a major responsibility entrusted to the Amherst Schools. Please contact the Transportation Department at 440-988-2633 if you have questions or concerns. For any other assistance, email our Transportation Supervisor, Teea Ford, at Email Teea Ford or our Transportation Secretary, Micheline Krause, at Email Micheline Krause.

Due to the financial impact of the failed operating levies and the resulting budget reductions, Amherst Schools will be implementing transportation services at the State of Ohio minimum requirements beginning with the 2026-2027 school year.

Please review the following important changes:

• Transportation will only be provided for students who live two-miles or more from their assigned school building. Students residing within the two-mile radius are not eligible for district transportation.

• Students in grades 9-12 will not receive regular transportation services. The exception is transportation provided to and from the Lorain County JVS for students enrolled in JVS programs. The JVS bus will pick up and drop off students at Steele High School.

• Students who qualify for transportation will be transported only to and from their designated home bus stop. The district will no longer provide transportation to alternate locations, including babysitters, daycare providers, relatives' homes, or other non-home addresses that are inside of the two-mile radius.

• "Space Available" transportation requests will not be offered during the 2026-2027 school year. Transportation services will be limited to students who qualify based on their home address and the state-required two-mile eligibility guidelines for each school building.

Route A - AJH, Steele, and St. Joe's (Coming Soon!)

Route B - Powers and Nord (Coming Soon!)

Bus Stops

Students should be at their stops at least five (5) minutes prior to the bus arriving. They should be lined up at the stop – not waiting in vehicles and/or homes. All times are approximate taking into consideration traffic, road conditions, etc

Day Care and Babysitters

If your child needs to be transported to Day Care/Babysitters, please contact the Transportation Department and/or the school your child attends. Paperwork must be completed BEFORE approval will be given and arrangements made. Paperwork needs to be completed each new school year. Please contact the Transportation Department immediately if you have need of this service.

Inclement Weather/Calamity Days

On days when the Amherst Schools are closed due to inclement weather or a calamity, ALL TRANSPORTATION services are canceled for ALL schools including any non-public schools that we provide transportation for. Fore more information on inclement weather or calamity days, please visit our Delays and Closings page.

Pick-Up/Drop-Off Times

Scheduled pick-up/drop-off times are approximate based on the student roster at the time the routes were created. Times may vary due to additional/withdrawn students. Weather conditions, road construction, traffic and train delays can also impact pick-up/drop-off times. Routes can tend to run slower for the first week of school.

Space Available Form

Students qualify for transportation by living over 1 mile from their school of attendance. If your student does not qualify, a form is available to complete for consideration/approval to ride the bus if there is room (extra seats on the bus). The form is available in the Transportation Department or on our website (see link below). Assignment/approval will be made on a “first-come, first-served” basis. Determination will be made in October after student counts are taken.

Special Needs Routes

Drivers will contact parents and students regarding bus information. If you haven’t heard from a driver by the week before school opens, please contact the Transportation Department.

These are frequently asked questions and general information about pupil transportation in Ohio and quoted directly from the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) website:

Shonteea Ford, is the Transportation Supervisor in the Amherst Exempted Village School District. Teea's career in transportation began at Lorain County Jobs and Family Services. She was the transportation coordinator for Medicaid & Medicare and CareSource for the county. Teea later moved on to Lorain City Schools where she joined the operations team and became the transportation coordinator for the district. Teea's number one goal is to get students to school and back home safely everyday! She is excited to be an Amherst Comet!!