BOE may double The state Board of Education will vote today on a plan to double school bus fares to 50 cents from 25 cents a ride, the first fare hike since 1995.
school bus fare
The board will vote today
on raising the fee to
50 cents per rideBy Susan Essoyan
sessoyan@starbulletin.comThe increase is necessary to cope with a $4 million annual deficit in the program, according to Keith Sakata, chairman of the Committee on Support Services, which unanimously approved the proposal earlier this month and sent it to the full board for a vote.
"The fee must be raised," he said. "Otherwise, we have to take money from general education to pay for bus transportation."
The school board has considered raising fees for years, as the costs of the program grew, but backed off in the face of public opposition. Sentiment was still strongly against the fare increase at public hearings earlier this year, but the board now appears ready to act, Sakata said.
Board members had considered increasing the distance that older students must live from school to qualify for school bus service, now one mile on Oahu, but dropped that plan because it was unpopular. "That was the greatest objection raised by parents," Sakata said.
About 29,000 students ride school buses statewide, according to Al Suga, assistant superintendent for business services. Nearly 12,000 of them get a free ride because they are on welfare or have physical or health problems. At its meeting today, the board also will consider a proposal to broaden eligibility for free bus service to those receiving food stamps, Suga said.
The fare increase is expected to net the system $1.8 million to $2 million, depending on how much ridership drops, he said.
The board also hopes to have the cost of midday transport of special-needs children shifted from the bus system to special-education funds. That could bring in another $500,000, Suga said, but would still leave the program at a deficit.
"We're hoping that the Legislature in the future will fully fund school bus transportation costs, because I don't feel it's right that students have to pay for it," Sakata said. "But until the Legislature moves in that direction, charges have to be made."
Other issues on today's agenda include amending the budget to delay plans to build Royal Kunia Elementary School because the state has not yet acquired the school site from the landowner. Instead, the first increment of Ocean Pointe Elementary will be moved up on the Department of Education's priority list for the 2003-2005 budget.
Also at the meeting, Tim Littlejohn of Waialua Public Library will be honored as 2002 Librarian of the Year. He is known for his efforts to reach out to the community and draw more people to the quaint North Shore library, named the Best Small Rural Library in the United States in 1997. Littlejohn will receive $1,000 from the Hawaii Library Foundation and Borders, along with a $500 Borders store certificate.
The school board meets at Mililani Middle School Cafeteria at 3:30 p.m. The bus fare issue will be considered after the meeting reconvenes at 7 p.m.
State Board of Education