LOS ALAMITOS : School Bus Fees Will Nearly Double

Parents in the Los Alamitos Unified School District will have to pay almost double the current fees to send their children to school by bus starting this fall.

Faced with a potential 6% to 11% cut in state funds, the district Board of Trustees on Tuesday night adopted new bus fees that average increases of 80% to prevent draining the general fund.

“I don’t think it’s good news for the community,” said school board President Jeanne Flint. “But $252 is the money I’m willing to spend to send my child to school, rather than take $252 out of the classroom.”

The annual cost to send three or more children to school by bus is $280. Under the new fee schedule, an annual bus pass for one student will cost $252, up from $140. A second child will cost $162 more, and three or more children will cost $90 more, for a maximum annual fee of $504.

Half-year passes for one student will cost $150, an 87% jump from the current $80 fee.

Reduced annual passes for qualified lower-income students will cost $126 for one child, up from $70. A low-income family with three or more children will pay a total of $267, up from $150, while a half-year reduced pass for one child will be $81 instead of $45.

Bus service for handicapped students and those forced to attend another school for special education or other reasons will continue to be free.

About 1,700 of the district’s 6,600 students now take buses to school.

The bus fee hikes are one way the district, which has trimmed $4 million in spending over the past four years, is dealing with anticipated reductions in state funds, Flint said. Without the increases, the number of bus stops, times and other service levels would be drastically reduced, according to district officials.