VISTA : School Bus Fees Are Coming Back
School bus fees will return to the Vista Unified School District in August, after a four-year absence.
Students will be charged 50 cents each way, trustees decided last week. Annual passes will cost $120 for high school students and $110 for other students, a discount of about 33% off the full round-trip fares, said Max Mattox, director of transportation.
The bus fees follow a state Supreme Court decision allowing school districts to charge students for bus service. Vista Unified abandoned its previous 25-cents-per-ride fee in 1988 after a court decision prohibiting such charges, Mattox said.
The old fee was inaugurated in 1983.
The new fees, which go into effect Aug. 3, are needed because state funds don’t cover the full cost of transporting students to and from school, Mattox said. On average, nearly 40% of the district’s 20,000 students ride the bus each day, he said.
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