by Frank Schroth
The School Committee took up the matter of increasing bus fees for the second time at their session last Wednesday and, after hearing from concerned East Milton parents, for the second time have deferred taking a vote. The matter is complicated by issues of safety regarding East Milton Square and equity of the fee structure for all Milton families.
Assistant Superintendent of Business Glenn Paclicek outlined the costs and reviewed the history of bus fees. Massachusetts law requires all towns to provide free transportation to students that live 2 or more miles from their school. Milton had at one time provided free service for those 1.5 miles for further away. The district moved to the state mandate several years ago. The school ran a shuttle from East Milton that serviced two stops. Over time due to an increase in population that shuttle no longer became feasible as the location of stops could not safely accommodate the number of students gathered. The district ran buses but retained the lower shuttle fee. Pavlicek noted that the matter of changing the rate to make it uniform across town had been scheduled for discussion on couple occasions over the last two years but the matter was never formally taken up.
The administration is recommending that bus fees for all riders be set at $350 with a family cap of $900. Pavlicek said that the annual cost to the district for a bus is ~$66,000 and that fees only cover a portion of that cost.
During Citizen Speak Cindy Christiansen, a town meeting member from East Milton, was joined by 7 parents in outlining their concerns about the increase in the fee and the general issues of safety in the square. Ms Christiansen, who stated she does not have a child in the system, walked the committee through her experience of walking through the square, navigating crosswalks and traffic. She argued that the state requirement of 2 miles was based on “reasonableness” and that while these families lived within 2 miles it was not really reasonable for them to walk or bike given the hazardous nature of East Milton Square. The parents reiterated her concerns, gave some hair raising anecdotes, and one added that “nobody is capped at $900 on the south shore.”
When the matter was discussed at their 10/1 meeting member Mike Zullas said there were three issues involved: safety, equity of fees for all Milton families, and setting the rate. Zullas recommended taking a vote on establishing a uniform rate across town arguing that “if we do not have a uniform rate we conflate the [safety] issue.” It had been noted that there are many parts of town that are less than pedestrian friendly (e.g. crossing Reedsdale Road, Route 138, Randolph Ave). The motion was defeated with Padera, Sheridan, and Kelly voting against (Bagley Jones abstained). It was decided to defer further discussion until this session on 10/15.
One of the parents present said she had been hoping for a more informal, comfortable setting with which to speak with committee members regarding the fee issue. Zullas said he would be willing to avail himself to those who might want to meet outside of the formal school committee meeting. Bagley-Jones also said she would be willing to meet. It was agreed to defer the vote on raising the rates for bus transportation and have all families pay the same rate until members of the school committee could meet informally with parents. It is expected that the committee will take a vote at their next session.