Newhall Elementary Schools to Charge Busing Fee : Education: The superintendent says the alternative was to cut academic programs. Low-income families will not have to pay for the service.

Faced with deep cuts in state funding, the Newhall School District will begin charging parents for busing students this fall.

The elementary school district is the second in the Santa Clarita Valley and one of an increasing number in the state to stop providing free bus rides because of dwindling funds. The William S. Hart Union High School District voted last month to charge parents for the service.

Other districts in the Santa Clarita Valley, including the Castaic Union School District, are also considering charging for bus service.

“No one is really thrilled with this, but compared to cutting academic programs, it’s the lesser of two evils,” said Supt. J. Michael McGrath, head of the Newhall School District.

The Newhall board voted late Tuesday to charge families with one child $200 annually for using the service. Families with more than one child will pay an additional $150 per year for the second child and $100 for the third child. Additional children will ride free.

Low-income families will not have to pay the fee, McGrath said.

The high school district adopted a similar fee structure, except that families with more than three children will have to pay $100 annually for each additional child. The district also revised the busing eligibility rules so that fewer students qualify and fewer routes are needed.

“It’s probably pretty unpopular, but we’re doing the best we can,” said Supt. Walter L. Swanson, head of the high school district.

The fees adopted in the Santa Clarita Valley are much lower than those adopted elsewhere in the state. For instance, the Conejo Valley Unified School District in Ventura County this fall will charge $450 for the first student in the family.

In Santa Clarita, the new fees will not make up for an anticipated deficit in state funds, making it necessary to dip into general-fund revenues to compensate for the difference, officials said.

In the Hart district, the new fees and revised eligibility rules will raise about $500,000, about $200,000 short of what the district needs, Swanson said.

In the Newhall district, the fees will raise only about $100,000, leaving the district about $350,000 short of what it needs, McGrath said.

Although the districts anticipate a reduction in the number of school buses on the road this fall, no bus drivers will be laid off, said Gail Hastain, vice president of Santa Barbara Transportation Corp., which provides service for the districts. Hastain said the company will use the bus drivers elsewhere.