MISSION VIEJO : School Bus Fee Hike Endorsed by Board

In an effort to make its busing system self-supporting, the Saddleback Valley Unified School District Board of Education this week unofficially endorsed a proposal to raise the cost of annual bus passes from $150 to $365 per student.

The move, which will save the district more than $600,000, will not be given final approval until June, but trustees have indicated that they intend to approve the increase when they adopt the district’s 1992-93 budget.

The busing fees are among a list of budget cuts and fee increases being considered by the board as it attempts to close a projected $2.6-million budget shortfall.

“I can’t think of a better time in terms of our financial situation,” said Trustee R. Kent Hann. “It’s time to take the plunge. Let’s reach in, do it, and make buses pay their own way and let the money get back into the classroom, where it belongs.”

District officials, bracing themselves for an onslaught of public protest, will be holding several public hearings on the issue this month.

“It’s important that we get this information out into the public so that they don’t feel that we’re trying to do this behind closed doors,” said Trustee Dore J. Gilbert.

Trustee Marcia L. Birch, the only member of the board to speak out against the proposed increase, said she wants the district to make it clear that the public hearings will be “more informational than for public input.”

“We need to be very upfront about it,” Birch said. “I want to make sure that we’re clear with the community that there’s already a clear disposition.”

Birch said she would support an increased fee, but added that she does not feel parents should pay the full cost of busing. The state should be giving the district more money for transportation and “fund a more complete picture,” she said.

“It’s difficult for me to not only ask that families attend schools far away from where they live, but to pay high fees on top of that,” Birch said.

About 4,500 of the district’s 25,000 students take the bus to school each day.

District officials estimate that the number of students who ride the bus will decrease when the higher fee is imposed.

Fees will be waived for children who are enrolled in special education or are from low-income families.

The same federal guidelines used in qualifying families for free or reduced-price lunch programs would be used in determining waivers for low-income families, district officials said.

Last June, the board voted to charge for busing after a court dispute over whether schools can impose such charges.

At that time, many parents complained because they said their children are not allowed to attend schools within walking distance of their homes because of overcrowding and are bused to less crowded schools miles away.