SIMI VALLEY : 25% Say They Would Pay School Bus Fees

A recent survey determined that 25% of the parents of Simi Valley children who ride buses to school would be willing to pay for the service, school officials said Wednesday.

Officials of the Simi Valley Unified School District, where a fee has been proposed for transportation to and from school, said a charge could be imposed as early as the spring of 1992.

If the fee is approved, board members said, they would favor offering service to areas that were dropped from the bus program in September, 1990, because of budget cuts. About 1,350 students now ride the bus.

No Ventura County school districts charge a fee for home-to-school bus service. A state Court of Appeal decision in April upheld the right of school districts to charge for transportation, but the decision has been appealed.

Simi Valley board members in May requested that the busing survey be sent to each family in the district. Of 10,684 surveys mailed, 1,239, or 12%, were returned.

Forty-seven percent of the parents whose children rode the bus before September, 1990, said they would be willing to pay for bus service.

Of the parents whose children are ineligible for transportation, 19% said they would be willing to pay a fee. However, 35% of those willing to pay stated that $140 to $160 per year per student was too much.

The fee has not been set, Simi Valley officials said.