School closes without warning

The driving school operated for more than five years.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
CORTLAND -- A local driver training school is closing after the state proposed to revoke the owner's license because she hadn't met continuing education requirements.
Debra Huber, owner of Superior Driving School, told a state licensing official by telephone Wednesday that she'd decided to close the school, according to Julie Ehrhart, a public information officer for the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
Huber's closing notification came after the state sent her a letter in late August that proposed to revoke her training manager's license.
Sharon Whaley of Cortland said her sons -- Andrew, 17, and Daniel, 16 -- finished their 24 hours of classroom training at the school at 3473 state Route 5, Cortland, on Aug. 19.
School officials told the boys to await notice as to when they should report to the school for their eight hours of road instruction, but they never got the notice or any road training, she said. Whaley said she paid $485 for the boys' instruction and seeks a refund for the road training hours they didn't receive.
"It's caused a financial hardship because we'll obviously have to find another school and pay to have the boys complete their driver's training," she said.
"They're both very active and busy, and we still have to drive them around," she said, referring to herself and her husband, Joseph. "They need to have their licenses. It's a hardship on us working parents to have to drive them everywhere while we're waiting for this to be resolved."
Keeping low profile
Whaley said she has called and left messages daily at the school and at Huber's home, but the calls haven't been returned.
Calls by The Vindicator to the school and the Canfield residence Huber entered on her state license application were met Friday with recordings saying the numbers were disconnected. No one answered knocks on the school door mid-afternoon Friday.
On Aug. 31, Kenneth L. Morckel, ODPS director, sent Huber a certified letter in which he proposed to revoke her driver training manager license because he said she hadn't completed the continuing education course such managers are required to satisfactorily complete every three years.
The letter said department records showed Huber last completed the required course on March 1, 2002, and hadn't completed any continuing education since then. The letter said she had 30 days to request an adjudication hearing.
Ehrhart said Huber did not provide any written notice of her intent to close the school. Driver education schools are supposed to notify the department in writing 30 days before closing, Ehrhart added.
The department got two complaints from parents about a month ago saying they couldn't reach Huber to find out when their children could complete their driver training, Ehrhart said.
Seeking credit
If the department can determine from school records how much instruction each student completed, it can arrange for the students to get credit for the completed training hours before they enroll in another driving school to finish their training, Ehrhart said.
Such schools are required to carry a $10,000 bond for the first training location and $2,000 per additional location. On the school's license application, the school's bond company is listed as Old Republic Security Co., and the agent is listed as Jeff Dreves, whose insurance agency has a Girard address. Ehrhart suggested that those seeking refunds pursue their requests through the bonding company or agent. Dreves did not return a call from the newspaper.
Superior began operations in July 2000, and the Better Business Bureau has no record of any complaints against it, according to Melissa Padisak, director of marketing and public relations for the BBB of Mahoning Valley.
Even though Superior was not a BBB member, Padisak said complaints concerning the school can be filed with the BBB. She also said complaints can be filed with the Ohio Attorney General's Office or the local Ohio State Highway Patrol post.
milliken@vindy.com