The Indiana Court of Appeals decides that transportation is part of the public education system and that Franklin Township Community School Corp. violated the state constitution when it ended bus service and arranged for an outside company to transport students for a fee. The court points to a state mandate for schools to bus homeless, foster-care, special-needs and some private-school students.
In March, Etiwanda School District launched a "shared cost model" pilot transportation program for students who live at least 3 miles from school. District officials say that the program "did not generate the interest nor the revenue that was expected," and the board decides to discontinue it after the last day of school.
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 (Ala.) City Schools' board votes to implement school bus ridership fees for the 2014-15 school year, pending approval by the U.S. District Court. In a memorandum proposing the fees, Superintendent Andy Craig says a fee-based system would help the district “address the financial challenges we are facing.”
The service for regular-education students at Hoover City Schools was set to end with the 2014-15 school year, but Superintendent Andy Craig and school officials are now exploring ways to continue offering the service with the district’s own bus fleet and drivers and to charge students a fee to ride the bus. Craig says that the ability for the district to both receive state allocation for transportation and collect fees from bus riders was the primary factor in this latest decision.
Lake County (Fla.) Schools students who lost courtesy bus service because they live within 2 miles of their schools will now be able to pay a $1 or $2 fee to ride the bus. Additionally, the district will restore free bus service for students within the 2-mile zones who have dangerous walking routes that include crossing roadways with high speeds or multiple lanes.
The fee will be higher starting with the upcoming school year. The South Sioux City (Neb.) district is looking for a way to balance its transportation budget; it was only reimbursed by the state for half of the nearly $570,000 that was spent on busing last school year.
At least five fee-based bus routes will be run throughout Sioux Falls School District next year for specialized elementary and middle school students. Fees will range from $50 to $150 per semester, based on families' lunch payment qualifications.
Regular-education students who live more than two miles from their home campus will be eligible for the service under a “blended transportation model” that the Keller (Texas) Independent School District’s board of trustees approves. The model will be implemented on Jan. 23, and students within the two-mile range will continue to have the option to purchase bus service for $75 per semester.
A petition to set aside $316,250 in Lexington, Mass., town funds to reduce the fee from $550 to $300 per student is approved at a meeting in April. As of this month, ridership at Lexington Public Schools is reportedly up to 37% from 33% last year.
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