ANTELOPE VALLEY : Deadline for School Bus Fee Approaches
Many students who ride buses provided by the Antelope Valley Union High School District must pay a new $100 annual fee by Oct. 15 or face being left home.
The Antelope Valley Schools Transportation Agency, which manages the district’s busing program, has been receiving about 100 calls a day from parents with questions or complaints since mailing out notices last week announcing the upcoming deadline.
About 2,000 of the district’s 12,835 students are expected to pay the new fee, which the school board imposed in late August because of a budget crisis. The busing agency plans to issue students laminated bus passes, once parents mail in pictures of their children and checks for the required amount.
Under state law, the district is prohibited from charging the fee to low-income and handicapped students. District officials expect the fee to generate about $200,000 this year, covering only about 13% of the district’s home-to-school busing costs.
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