The Greene County Schools board of education at its regular meeting Aug. 17 was asked to consider providing transportation for students swimming on the Boone swim team through an athletic sharing agreement.
Currently two students drive their teammates to and from Boone in their private vehicles. “They don’t have a whole lot of driving experience. It’s concerning to us as parents,” David Ausberger told the board.
The parents proposed the school provide round trip transportation to practices five days a week, and one-way transportation to Boone on the days the team has meets. Ausberger suggested the board set a threshold of five students needed for the school to provide transportation to shared sports to include boys swimming and girls and boys soccer.
Parent Dennis Hall said the parents would be glad to help defray the cost of a professional driver.
Board member Mark Peters said that if the district provides transportation for one sport it would have to provide it to all sports, even those with only one Greene County student participating.
Last February the board voted to eliminate shuttle buses to Grand Junction/Rippey and to Scranton after athletic practices in Jefferson. An average of two students rode the Grand Junction/Rippey shuttle and an average of 1.5 students rode the Scranton shuttle. Drivers were paid $35 per run, and considering fuel and wear on the vehicle, superintendent Tim Christensen said the shuttles were not cost effective.
Christensen reminded the board of that decision as they discussed transportation for students in shared sports.
He estimated the payroll cost and fuel cost to be about $82 per day for the round trip to Boone, for a total of about $3,200 for the girls swim season. There will likely be Greene County students on the Boone boys swim team this winter, incurring a similar cost. The girls and boys soccer seasons are concurrent in the spring. They could ride a bus together, adding another $3,200.
The board asked Christensen to get firm cost estimates. As the swim season is already under way, the board will hold a special meeting to consider the question once those estimates are available.
