CAT buses proposed for school students

Terry Webster

Friday, Jan. 5, 2001 | 10:34 a.m.

Possible cuts in student transportation services is one area the Clark County School District is considering in its efforts to balance the 2000-2001 budget.

School officials and the School Board during a workshop session Thursday began the process of whittling nearly $18 million from the district's $1.1 billion 2000-2001 budget. The need to cut began, school officials said, following the approval of an arbitration agreement for employee raises and unexpected increases in utility costs.

Among the transportation issues is a study ordered by Superintendent Carlos Garcia that reviews how much money the district would save by extending the busing limit for high school students from two to three miles.

Another consideration is having middle and high school students in the magnet school and alternative education programs use the Citizen Area Transit bus system instead of school buses.

If approved, the district would pay for bus passes for those students at a cost of approximately $15 a month per student.

Hearing that, School Board member Ruth Johnson said the arrangement would not be equitable for all students. She also requested a review of how other large school districts fund student transportation.

Also discussed was the possibility of having parents pay a yearly transportation fee.

During discussion, Garcia said that while he was a principal in San Francisco, about 85 percent of students got to school via public transportation.

Options for privatizing the district's transportation division was yet another topic of discussion.

Ronald Despenza, transportation director, said private firms would be unable to provide the same services cheaper than the district's in-house operation.

While the district is not planning to eliminate positions, other district-wide cost-cutting measures call for combining positions or leaving them vacant.

Board members Susan Brager and Larry Mason called for an advisory panel to oversee legal spending, after seeing the district exceeded budgeted legal expenses by $300,000.

Brager said the amount the district spends defending lawsuits is too open-ended.