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Parents May Realize School Bus Savings

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Orange Unified School District trustees have agreed to share with parents whatever savings the district realizes from its newly privatized bus service.

Administrators last week had argued against the plan to give parents a partial rebate on bus passes. The anticipated $500,000 annual savings from privatization is needed to help finance a $4.5-million bus replacement program, officials said.

But Trustee Bill Lewis argued that parents need to share the savings gained by the district’s privatization effort.

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“I believe that if we are going to have this big savings, some should be going back to the bus users,” he said. “We’re getting a windfall and some of the windfall should be going back to the parents who are writing the checks.”

Six trustees voted to rebate 10% of whatever savings are generated next year to parents, who pay up to $180 per year for bus passes. Trustee Maureen Aschoff was absent.

Trustees had agreed to privatize the bus service last year over heated objections from union representatives. The impetus in part was the deteriorating state of the 65-bus fleet.

Business officials presented a 10-year plan that would replace all of the buses within six years.

The trustees accepted to the plan in general, and agreed that the district should investigate replacing some of the fleet with natural gas buses.

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