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Busing is back in D-49!
Posted: 04.28.2011 at 9:20 PM
Updated: 04.29.2011 at 6:10 AM
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Bus service in District 49 will continue on a fee-for-service basis  / FOX21: Sade Malloy
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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- After being forced to eliminate bus service in response to the state's $250 million education cuts, Falcon School District 49 board members voted unanimously to reinstate busing Wednesday night, but on a fee-for-service basis.

The district won't put any money into the Transportation Department's budget except for special education students.

It'll cost $1 per ride ($2 roundtrip). We did some number crunching, and if a student takes the bus to and from school for the 171 day school year and has perfect attendance, it would cost $342 per student per school year.

"I'm not opposed to it at all. I think that if that's an option to keep busing, that's fine, so it doesn't upset me," Whitney Norris, a D-49 parent, said.

The Transportation Department will change the routes to circuit and corridor busing, stopping at major corridors in rural areas and driving several buses in a circle along Powers Boulevard about 6-7 minutes apart in a circuit.

There have been cuts every year since 2005 in the D-49's Transportation Department, but with the drastic cuts coming down from the state, bus drivers said they're just relieved to keep their jobs.

"It's getting tougher and tougher to provide the service this year," Cindy Hardin, Director of Transportation, said. "It can not look the same with the cuts that we're going to have to make this year."

The bus service is going to be cost-neutral for the district. Busing for regular education in D-49 costs $1.4 million. They'll be cutting $600,000 by changing and limiting service, and the balanced will be paid for by the fee-for-service.

D49 BUS FEES
What are your thoughts on D49 keeping bus service for a per-ride fee?

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