$400 per year to ride the bus to school? Paso Robles doubles pass prices amid driver shortage
Starting this semester, Paso Robles parents must pay nearly $400 per year for each student to ride the bus to school — a large price increase caused by a driver shortage and a need to cut routes in the coming year.
After Jan. 16, Paso Robles Joint Unified School District will charge $190 per semester to ride the bus in the morning and the afternoon. That’s exactly double the $95 parents were previously paying for their children to be transported to school twice a day.
Under the new fee schedule, parents will be charged $130 for a second child and $70 for a third child. Any additional children after that will be free.
The district announced the shift in a letter to parents on Dec. 16, and bus passes issued during the previous semester will become invalid this week.
Low-income families will be eligible to receive reduced-price passes, which will cost $95 per semester. A family of four must earn $46,435 per year to qualify for cheaper fees.
Parents will be charged $65 for a second child and $35 for a third child. The fourth child and up will be free.
A lack of qualified bus drivers is the primary reason for the price hike, as the district is planning to cut routes next year, said Brad Pawlowski, the district’s chief business officer.
“It’s highly unlikely we’re going to be able to sustain the current routes we have through the end of this fiscal year,” he said.
By raising the price of bus passes, the district expects to lose some riders, Pawlowski said. This, in turn, will allow officials to eliminate routes.
Pawlowski pointed out only about 1,200 students — approximately 18% of the 6,844 in the district — ride the bus to school. The new fee will cost parents about $2 per day if their children receive transportation to and from school.
“We’ve been speaking with the community about this since the start of the school year,” he said.
Paso Robles schools are recovering from a $3 million budget shortfall that’s left the district with few financial resources. Pawlowski said it makes sense for parents who use the bus service to pay for it, rather than potentially taking funds away from other programs.
The district’s total 2019-2020 budget for transportation, including special education, is $1,925,852, he said. Prior to the increase, district officials expected to collect $124,000 in fees.
“It’s still a long ways away from covering the cost of the entire route,” Pawlowski said of the fees.
SLO County school bus pass fees
Paso Robles’ new bus passes are the most expensive of any K-12 district in San Luis Obispo County.
Lucia Mar Unified School District passes, the second priciest in the county, cost $280 per year.
Three districts — Atascadero Unified School District, Shandon Joint Unified School District and Coast Unified School District — don’t charge any fees for transportation.
Based in Cambria, Coast Union has the largest percentage of student bus riders — about 25%.
Only 6% of Templeton Unified School District students ride the bus. The district doesn’t provide home-to-school service and shuttles students only to and from Templeton and Vineyard elementary schools, said Greg Giuffre, director of maintenance, operations, transportation and grounds.
California districts can charge for transportation
California does not require school districts to provide bus service, although federal law states students with disabilities and homeless students must be given transportation, according to a 2014 California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) report.
Districts are allowed to charge for transportation, although state law prevents officials from collecting fees from students with disabilities, the LAO report says.
Officials also can’t collect fees “in excess of the cost of providing transportation,” and they can’t charge more than parents would pay for their children to ride public transit.
Pawlowski acknowledged that the transportation fee hike is “one more thing to hit pocketbooks” for parents.
He said he hopes some parents will be able to drive their children to school or organize carpools. Pawlowski said he hasn’t yet heard of any students who won’t be able to make it to school because their families can’t afford to pay the higher fees.
“Unfortunately, we would never want to do this in the middle of the year,” he said.
However, in light of the driver shortage, it’s important to begin planning for route cuts now, he said.
The district will provide free training for anyone interested in becoming a bus driver, which pays $15 to $20 per hour, Pawlowski said.
“At the end of the school year, we’re going to have to make some changes,” he said.
This story was originally published January 14, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
