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| USD 416 implements ‘pay to ride’ bus program |
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| News | |||
| Written by Aaron Cedeño | |||
| Wednesday, 09 September 2009 08:00 | |||
Standing outside her school and seeing kids safely home every weekday afternoon, Becky Bowes has a good handle on the level of traffic in front of Rockville Elementary School.  After Louisburg USD 416 implemented a “pay-to-ride” school-bus program for students living within 2.5 miles of their schools, there was some question as to how many more parents would begin dropping their children off and picking them up each day, particularly at the elementary schools. If fewer children rode the bus, would the change cause potential congestion and safety issues? Thankfully, the answer to that question thus far in the 2009-2010 academic year is a definite “no.” “That first few days, it’s always hard,” Bowes noted of the regular traffic patterns in front of Rockville. “But now we’ve got a pretty good routine down, and if people are just patient, it works.” Changes in the bus program were implemented in April, in the hopes that they would help dampen the effects of an approximately $170,000 budget shortfall. The cost of transporting children to and from school is significant. Not factoring in the cost of fuel, the Louisburg district pays $686 per student annually. Currently, the district charges families living within 2.5 miles of school $100 per student annually to ride the bus, with a maximum fee of $150 per family. A couple of weeks into the new school year, the district reports that 151 students are paying to ride and that USD 416 has been able to cut two bus routes — another important cost-saving measure. Although she was not superintendent when the plan was implemented, Sharon Zoellner said she agrees with it completely. “I’m very familiar with pay ridership in many districts and didn’t think that was unusual at all,” she said. Some school districts are taking even more drastic measures. Lawrence USD 497, for example, opted in May to cut bus routes entirely for students living within a 2.5-mile limit, saving about $450,000 annually. Zoellner said district officials will take another close look at the budget in early 2010 — with additional cuts possibly on the horizon. For now, making modifications to the school-bus system seems to be one cost-saving measure that is gaining popularity. “I think more and more districts will be participating in those kinds of activities as the cost for transporting gets higher and higher,” she said.
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