School bus ridership in Harvard is dropping, and the cost of bus service is rising. Between them, the two trends have created a shortage of at least $33,500 in the school budget for next year, Superintendent Linda Dwight told the School Committee Monday night.
Next year’s contract with Dee Bus Service came in last month at $361,800, well above the $328,293 provided in the budget drawn up a few months ago. Moreover, to offset some of its busing costs, the school district was counting on about $55,000 from the fees many families pay for their children to ride the buses. But so far this year, those fees have generated only about $49,000. If ridership stays low next year, the gap between income and outgo could be even larger than now predicted.
All schools are facing higher bus costs, Dwight said, in part because Massachusetts now requires bus companies to provide more training and paid sick time for school bus drivers. So companies are passing on those higher costs to school districts. Regional districts are somewhat insulated from the increases because the state reimburses them for transportation costs. But independent school districts like Harvard pay their own way.
One possible solution is to raise fees, which have been level since they were first instituted about 15 years ago. But Finance Director Lorraine Leonard pointed out in a memo that any substantial increase could further reduce ridership, which might worsen the deficit problem rather than solving it.
Another possibility is to reduce the number of buses, because nearly all now have empty seats. But using fewer buses would make for longer routes, keeping some students on the bus more than an hour each way, Dwight said.
School Committee member Mary Traphagen pointed out that rising costs are also affecting the buses for sports teams. She said those higher costs have in effect wiped out the additional $24,000 the Finance Committee approved in the school budget to keep athletic fees from rising.
Committee members agreed they need more data before making a decision on how to close the budget shortfall. Member Jon Green raised the question of why ridership has fallen off this year, and Dwight suggested that members look back at a recent parent survey on bus ridership for information. Other members wondered about fees in nearby independent districts such as Clinton, Lunenburg, and Littleton.
“Something has to give” to make up the shortage, Chairwoman SusanMary Redinger said, perhaps even a staff position or textbooks.
“People need to know the choices and where the money could come from,” member Jennifer Bedford agreed.
Traphagen said she would “encourage people to come with suggestions” to the next School Committee meeting. She emphasized the words “with suggestions.”
