Until our state legislators like Assemblywoman Anna Caballero
and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger actually start working for
Californians instead of feuding like adolescents and pointing
fingers at each other, the Gilroy Unified School District will have
to be pro-active and creative regarding the budget.
Until our state legislators like Assemblywoman Anna Caballero and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger actually start working for Californians instead of feuding like adolescents and pointing fingers at each other, the Gilroy Unified School District will have to be pro-active and creative regarding the budget.
Bus fees, for the first time within GUSD, are under serious consideration. And it’s understandable given the ridiculous roller coaster politics which have unfortunately become standard operating procedure at the state capitol.
Trustee Francisco Dominguez, who is a candidate for state Assembly, hit the mark with this observation: “The district is fighting a moving budget target.”
Round and round the state goes, where the budget stops no school district knows.
The transportation spending numbers for GUSD, despite the switch to neighborhood schools where families and children are encouraged to walk or ride a bike, are very high.
It takes $1.6 million to shuttle 1,219 students to and from school, and the talk now is about charging $1 per bus ride, perhaps basing the charges on those eligible for free and reduced lunch and expanding the “walk zones” from the current mile so that students who live within that zone are not eligible to ride the bus.
Even with the bus-ride charge, the district is only going to recoup $182,000. That’s just a dent in the overall cost.
Meanwhile, perhaps there is an out-of-the-box solution that gets GUSD entirely out of the transportation business.
All Gilroyans see the Valley Transportation Authority buses steaming through town virtually empty. What about a partnership with VTA that works on a hub system and can get students to school?
It’s certainly worth an investment of investigative time on the district’s part given the ever-escalating costs and the duplication of services.
Gilroy, in fact, might serve as a test program for VTA-school partnerships in the county.
With the state set to cut 65 percent – or $547,000 – from its usual reimbursement, the future path is clear. GUSD cannot continue to subsidize transportation.
Superintendent Debbie Flores and Deputy Superintendent of Business Services Enrique Palacios outlined the dilemma perfectly.
“We can’t afford to have that encroachment on the general fund anymore,” Flores said.
“No way can we pass on the full cost of school transportation to students,” Palacios said.
Perhaps something with the VTA could be worked out. If not, district parents will have to pay to ride or choose alternate means to get their children to and from school.
That’s the reality, and it’s not going to change anytime soon.
