Amador County Unified School District now charges a fee for students who ride the school bus. Pictured above is the district's newest bus, purchased by the board via grant funding. The new bus, which features retrofit diesel particulate filters, will be on display all day Wednesday in front of the district's administration building.

Photo by: Bethany A. Monk

Several factors, including cuts in education and the rising cost of fuel, have driven the Amador County Unified School District to charge students bus fare to and from school.

Last spring, the district's board of trustees voted to enact school bus fees beginning this school year, which began Aug. 13, to stave off dipping entirely into the district's general fund to support transportation costs.

As of the first day of school, the district had a total of 449 transactions for bus passes, according to Dick Glock, the county superintendent of schools. Glock gave a brief update regarding the new bus fees to trustees during the district's first school board meeting of the new school year. Glock also reported that, of these transactions, there were a total of 172 online applications and 108 free or reduced bus passes. The 449 transactions had generated $56,442 for the district, he said.

An annual round trip bus pass for one child costs an annual fee of $150; a pass for two children from the same family cost a total of $230; three children cost $270.

According to a representative from the district's department of business services, new transactions for bus passes are being processed.

Families may purchase bus passes anytime during the year, Andrew Peters, the district's transportation director, told the Ledger Dispatch Friday. In addition to the annual round-trip passes, other bus pass options include a semi-annual round trip pass for $75 per child, $115 for two children and $135 for three children.

"We see this as a better option than letting them rely on public transit or catching a ride with someone," Peters said, noting that a combination of issues has contributed to the district's decision to start charging for transportation to and from school via the district-owned school buses.

California public school districts do not receive money for transportation costs, Peters said. This, he added, leaves the funding up to the individual districts. Money from ACUSD's general fund has always funded transportation costs, he said. With the new bus fees in place, the general fund will still be "tapped into" for transportation costs, but way less than before.

Peters and members of the school board researched several school districts throughout the state that already charge bus fare, and worked hard to come up with reasonable prices for Amador families, Peters said.

After factoring in the time and money it takes families to transport their children to school, the district settled on bus pass prices that are quite economical, Peters said.

El Dorado Union High School District charges up to $220 for an annual bus pass, and charges $2 for a round-trip day pass, he said. The Folsom-Cordova Unified School District charges up to $260 for individual bus passes.

Amador County parents may purchase a $10 book of 20 50-cent rides for students who ride the bus as "occasional riders."

The district also offers reduced fee bus passes to families eligible under federal income regulations. The annual fee for a reduced fee, round-trip bus pass for one child is $75, $115 for two children and $125 for three children. Semi-annual fees are $38, $58, and $68.

Semi-annual reduced fees for one-way bus passes are $19, $29 and $34.

The district's board of trustees, according to Peters, has been very helpful in keeping fees low. "We're all very reluctant to charge much," he said. School bus fees may increase in the future, but "we don't want to prevent students from getting a safe ride to school."

For more information regarding bus fees and how to apply for a bus pass, call the district office at 257-5337, or visit www.trans.amadorcoe.k12.ca.us/. For information regarding bus routes/ times and weather, call the district's transportation office at 257-5180.