School district to charge students to ride the bus
by Lisa Crockett with photo by Carin R. Kirkegaard
Budget cuts have affected students and teachers in the Douglas County School District (DCSD) in nearly every aspect of the school experience from decreased services, to larger class sizes, to increased fees for computers. A decision by the school board will now affect students getting to and from school. In an effort to help defray transportation costs, which for the 2009-10 school year cost the district nearly $16 million, riders will now pay a .50 cent fee each time they ride the bus.
“It costs about $4.15 cents per mile to operate a school bus, depending on fuel costs,” said DCSD’s Acting Superintendent Steve Herzog. “We get about 90 cents per mile back from the state. The goal of this new fee system is to raise about two million dollars.”
Buses serve about a third of all students in the county (other students don’t receive transportation services because they live close enough to school to walk.) Costs associated with buses account for four percent of the district’s expenses. Because transportation to and from school is not required by the state of Colorado, the district is legally permitted to charge for the service.
Community feedback indicated that per-ride fees were preferred over a flat rate, which allows families to pay only according to their usage of district buses. In order to make this possible, the district is installing GPS units on each bus, which will track student ridership through a system called “ZPass.”
Some of the GPS equipment for the new system was used by the Democratic National Committee during the Democratic National Convention and donated to metro-area school districts at the conclusion of the convention, thereby lowering the overall capital costs to the district. The system will allow parents to log in to a secured site and view a student’s location on the school bus (this information can only be viewed by people with a students ID and login information.)
Bus Route information and applications for transportation services will be mailed to eligible families at the end of May. Applications for families who wish to use the new bus system will be due June 15 and passes will be issued in July, prior to the first day of school. A card reader will scan each student’s pass as he or she enters the bus and a quarterly invoice will be issued to parents. Families who qualify for the National Free and Reduced lunch program, as well as students with Individual Education Plans requiring transportation services, will not be charged a fee to ride.
For more information, visit www.dcsdk12.org.
