
Gov. Jerry Brown announces the cut on Tuesday as part of nearly $1 billion in mid-year budget reductions to statewide programs. Officials speak out upon hearing the news, including Mike Rea of the California Association of School Transportation Officials, who says the association will continue to work on a “legislative fix” that would move the transportation cut to an across-the-board revenue limit cut for school districts.
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The California Association of School Transportation Officials partners with education groups in contacting legislators to urge them to repeal the cut and inform them of the negative impact it would have. Mike Rea, government relations chairperson for the association, discusses these efforts with SBF.
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The Illinois General Assembly fails to restore the funds, cut by Gov. Pat Quinn, in an extended veto session last week. But state pupil transportation director Cinda Meneghetti tells SBF that salaries were restored for personnel at Regional Offices of Education, which perform services including school bus driver training.
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The superintendent of Keller (Texas) Independent School District says that the system “will operate in much the same way as a city bus pass.” Families can use an online portal to pay either monthly or by the semester for a pass, which will come in the form of a student ID card with embedded RFID tags.
Read More →Officials at Gaston County Schools in North Carolina say that with statewide budget cuts, the district can no longer afford to have school buses stop at every household, but under the new route plan, no elementary student will be required to walk farther than one-fifth or two-tenths of a mile to a bus stop. The changes will also reduce bus trip time by 15 percent and reduce the need to idle buses.
Read More →Aurora Public Schools reduces the number of its bus stops from 100 to 70 to make routes more efficient and to help reduce fuel costs. The school board also considers charging a flat rate per child and issuing identification cards.
Read More →The state Board of Education votes unanimously to increase the bus fare for public school students from 50 cents to $1.25 for a one-way ride. The increase is needed to make up for a $9.6 million legislative cut in funding for student transportation.
Read More →The state’s 2011 fourth quarter transportation payment had been targeted to be cut. But while that reimbursement has been restored, a new challenge surfaces: Gov. Pat Quinn has cut from his budget about $89 million for transportation for the next school year.
Read More →Lawmakers vote to use the $12.4 million to pay for school buses overrides Gov. Nikki Haley's veto of the original budget item. Haley vetoed the item because she believes the state should focus on privatizing its bus system, but lawmakers say students need safe transportation while the state investigates the benefits of privatization.
Read More →The accident occurs when Aniya Williams is trying to catch a city bus in Staten Island, N.Y. Williams used to ride a school bus, but service to her school was eliminated. Last week, the state Senate passed a bill to mandate that the city Department of Education provide school bus transportation to children in grades three through eight who live more than one mile from school.
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