St. Louis Public Schools has a new assistant director of transportation.
Leviticus “Levi” McNeal joined the school district as it navigates an ongoing school bus driver shortage.
His appointment comes after Toyin Akinola, the previous transportation director, announced her plans to retire on Oct. 31.
The district is working with over 19 vendors of school bus and van operators to get students to and from school on time. However, the district announced Monday that it has suspended some bus routes after one of its vendors was not complying with safety standards.
“As we identify any further concerns, vendors will be notified, and appropriate actions will be taken to ensure student safety,” a district administrator said.
All 5000 series bus routes will not operate for the foreseeable future. The district notified families of children on these routes over the weekend and has placed a notification on its website, which is updated daily. District officials said some students will be taken to school by other vendors and offered gas cards to other families who choose to drive their kids to school.
During a school board meeting last week, Chief Operations Officer Square Watson said that over 9,000 students are using traditional yellow buses and roughly 2,500 students are using alternative vendors.
Watson also said that about 85% of students were getting to and from school on time in both the morning and afternoons.
SLPS is searching for vendors for the 2025-26 school year, but meeting the district’s transportation needs for the rest of the school year will likely be a challenge as public complaints about the vendors continue to circulate online.
The district is in the process of evaluating all of its transportation vendors and plans to release a report on Nov. 1.
