Unexpected savings in teachers’ salaries next year will be enough to cover the rising cost of bus service, Superintendent Linda Dwight told the School Committee Monday night. The retirement of several veteran teachers, and their replacement by new hires at lower levels of the pay scale, will more than make up the $33,500 budget shortfall caused by the sharp increase in the bus contract.
As a result of that information, the School Committee decided to table any further discussion of school bus fees until next school year. Chairwoman SusanMary Redinger said the committee will then consider whether to cover rising transportation costs by raising bus fees and will also look for other solutions.
Committee member Nancy Lancellotti reported that the Bromfield School Council had discussed bus fees at its most recent meeting. Two ideas that the council raised, she said, were a “late bus” for students who stay after school for sports, and a “one-way pass” allowing a student to ride the bus either in the morning or the afternoon. Redinger said that these and other ways to make better use of the buses would be included in later discussions.
