The San Bernardino (Calif.) City Unified School District Board of Education recently approved the use of additional federal reimbursements to keep school buses in operation during the upcoming 2012-2013 school year despite a $21.7 million budget deficit that threatened the home-to-school service.
The current walking distance for elementary school students, which is 1.5 miles, will not increase, and high school students will receive transportation to and from school if they live more than 3.5 miles from their assigned school. A spokeswoman told School Transportation News that the board decision announced on May 21 came after the district discovered it could utilize funds from the Medical Administrative Activities reimbursement program. She added that San Bernardino will continue to do “a more thorough job” of requesting these reimbursements from the federal government.
“The Board made it very clear early on in the budget process that restoring student transportation was a top priority,” said Interim Superintendent Yolanda M. Ortega, in a statement. “Now, parents can rest assured that their children will continue to receive the transportation that they’re accustomed to.”
In addition to restoring student busing, the Board also allocated $190,000 for the child development program.
The total budget for the 2011-2012 school year was approximately $400 million. The board decided in February to cut transportation to address the $21.7 million budget shortfall.
San Bernardino City Unified is comprised of 48 elementary schools, 10 middle schools and eight high schools. It contracts with Durham School Services, which operates 258 bus routes and transports more than 10,000 students each day districtwide. Transportation services include home-to-school, special ed, homeless, magnet, choice, bilingual and courtesy.
