Alabama district delays school bus fee plan by 1 year
Hoover City Schools' plan to charge fees for student transportation is now being targeted for the 2015-16 school year instead of 2014-15. The plan outlines a fee structure that ranges from $0.43 to $2.26 per day, depending on how many student riders a family has and whether they qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
Hoover City Schools' plan outlines a school bus fee structure that ranges from $0.43 to $2.26 per student per day.
HOOVER, Ala. — Hoover City Schools' plan to charge fees for student transportation is now targeted for the 2015-16 school year.
Superintendent Andy Craig announced the change in a letter to district stakeholders on Tuesday. The Hoover board of education had voted last month to implement the bus fees for the 2014-15 school year.
District officials said that in the months ahead, they will continue to work with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Alabama State Department of Education to plan and design the "cost-sharing transportation model," with the current implementation goal being the start of the 2015-16 school year.
The district's plan outlines a school bus fee structure that ranges from $0.43 to $2.26 per student per day, depending on how many student riders a family has and whether they qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
"This fee structure will serve as a planning guide as we work to transition to a more effective, efficient and financially sustainable student transportation model," Craig wrote in the letter on Tuesday. "We envision Hoover City Schools providing world-class pupil transportation services using a cost-sharing model whereby state earmarked transportation funds are combined with local tax receipts and equitably administered ridership charges for students choosing to ride."
Craig said that the new transportation model might allow the district to integrate more technology to enhance safety and efficiency. There could also be increased potential to implement "enhanced supervision" on school buses, the superintendent added.
Hoover City Schools currently transports about 6,266 regular-route riders daily.
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