The decision to deny a request from parents that the Greene County Schools pay for transportation for swimmers on the Boone high school swim team came down to dollars and cents. The decision was made unanimously at a special meeting of the board of education Aug. 31.
Parents of six girls on the Boone team requested transportation at the Aug. 17 regular meeting. A 16-year-old swimmer is now driving the girls, causing worry for their parents. They offered to help pay the cost if the school provided a driver.
Superintendent Tim Christensen provided a cost estimate of $4,200 for transportation for the girls swim season, $4,200 for the boys swim season, and $4,100 for the boys/girls soccer season. Athletic shuttles to Scranton, and Grand Junction/Rippey were discontinued last winter due to cost and minimal use. Christensen estimated a cost of $17,000 to re-instate those shuttles, bringing the cost of athletic transportation to $29,500.
Christensen noted that the district cut $500,000 in expenses for the current year budget, including reducing two teaching positions. “I’m worried about the message of making those cuts and then doing transportation for athletics,” Christensen said.
The district appeared twice last year in front of the state School Budget Review Committee due to spending more than the state allowed. Board president Teresa Hagen noted that the district has already added $78,000 to this year’s budget because of an unexpected need for special education associates. The school administration will again need to appear in front of the SBRC to explain that. Hagen said adding associates is an expense out of the district’s control, while other expenses, like sports transportation, can be controlled.
“It’s hard to make a decision like this,” Hagen said. “You have what your heart thinks and you have what your fiscal responsibility is.”
Board member John McConnell questioned what had been done in the past. Board member Sam Harding answered that 10 years ago the school provided transportation to shared athletic programs in other districts, primarily because of the district’s liability. A state law that went into effect in 2007 shields schools from financial liability. At that time, the Jefferson-Scranton district (and most districts in the state, according to Harding) stopped providing transportation.
Because transportation must be paid out of the general fund, “everything we’re taking from that fund to do this (transportation) is less that we can pay for teachers,” Harding said. “It makes it a harder decision. It would be much easier if we could take it from the activities fund.”
He added that the board has allowed shared athletic agreements because there is no cost to the district. If there were a cost, he would vote against sharing, he said.
The board’s vote followed about 20 minutes of discussion.
