School bus services restored at Calif. district

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — The local board of education has restored student busing for next school year.

Officials said that the move came after the San Bernardino City Unified School District board identified additional federal funding.

In April, the district announced that it had to cut an estimated $21.7 million from the 2012-13 budget, citing a "lack of adequate funding from the state of California." Among the cuts to be made were reductions in transportation services.

One change was to increase the walking distance for elementary school students by half a mile, from 1.5 to 2 miles. In other words, children who live two miles or less from school would not receive transportation services.

The other key change was that the high school transportation program was to be eliminated.

On Monday, the district announced that the board of education decided to restore the transportation services.

The decision means that the walking distance for elementary school students will not increase, and high school students will be eligible for transportation if they live more than 3.5 miles from their assigned school.

“The board made it very clear early on in the budget process that restoring student transportation was a top priority,” Interim Superintendent Yolanda Ortega said. “Now, parents can rest assured that their children will continue to receive the transportation that they’re accustomed to.”

In addition to restoring student busing, the board allocated $190,000 for the district's child development program.