Officials Uncertain of School Bus Rides

With only four weeks to go until the start of fall classes, Palos Verdes school officials say they are still uncertain whether home-to-school bus service will be available for students.

Mark IV Charter Lines, a Gardena-based company, is studying whether to offer the service, which parents must pay for themselves. The company that had previously run the service, Laidlaw Transit, notified the district in June that it would no longer do so.

Mark IV President Jay Mannino, whose company recently signed a contract with the school district to provide bus service for students participating in extracurricular activities, said his company could arrive at a decision by next week.

The district halted bus service to students in the mid-’60s after residents voted down a ballot measure that would have increased taxes to pay for it. Under state law, the district is not required to provide the service.

A Laidlaw official said 400 students signed up last year for bus transportation. Each student was charged $350.

“It would be hardest on families where mothers work, or on single mothers,” Palos Verdes Estates Mayor Ruth Gralow said.