Minimal bus transportation and bus stops, along with a pay-per-ride system, is causing a flurry of safety and financial concerns in Falcon School District 49.District staff and parents are grappling with budget woes because of an $11 million cut made in 2010 that negatively affected bus drivers and bus transportation.”We cut 17 drivers, so having to arrange the stops with that few drivers was a big change,” said Stephanie Meredith, D 49 communications specialist. “As opposed to cutting the teachers, we are cutting transportation. We cut 143 positions last spring due to attrition and retiring in mostly administrative staff.”New bus routes were established in August, and the district cannot add more stops until the number of students riding the buses increases, said Cindy Hardin, director of transportation.”They (families) have to weigh the cost and we can do it cheaper. It’s 100 times safer to ride in a school bus than in a parent’s car,” Hardin said. “School buses have the best safety record in the transportation world outside of airplanes. The district is not funding regular transportation – it has to be self-sustaining.”To create a sustainable bus system the district must be reimbursed 25 cents on the mile from the state and transport at least 3,000 riders, with a $1 per-student, per-ride charge. The district had 2,655 riders in August, 345 riders short of the requirement, she said.”The (bus) system can grow – when we have the riders – to become something closer to what it used to be,” Hardin said. “The cost of running a bus for one run is $20,000 for the driver, fuel, maintenance, insurance and depreciation.”A bus pass for one child is $40. The pass is scanned for each ride; when the balance hits $20, the district sends a notification to the parents that additional money is needed.Solutions for those unable to ride the bus have been discussed – constructing sidewalks, adding cross guards, car-pooling and lowering fees per ride.Students eligible for free or reduced meals are not charged to ride the bus.Amber Costa, parent of a Falcon High School student and Falcon Middle School student, said she advocates a charge of 50 cents per ride.No sidewalks exist on the three main roads near the middle school, and parents with youth at three different schools have to drive them to a bus stop, Costa said.Traffic congestion and limited sidewalk space also creates an unsafe walking commute for kids, usually in a hurry to get somewhere.
