An unexpected funding shortfall had the Kenai Peninsula Borough School Board considering speeding up cuts to busing on the southern Kenai Peninsula.
Gov. Bill Walker’s attempt to trim the state budget includes a $12.8 million cut to education — which means $1.1 million less to the Kenai district. In that is a $655,000 reduction in student transportation funding.
The school district is already facing impending deficits in its transportation budget, due to increasing costs that are no longer being matched by state funding.
In response, the district is proposing switching from a one-tier busing system on the southern peninsula to a two-tier system. In a one-tier system, one bus covers one route. In two-tier, like the central peninsula already has, one bus covers two routes, so fewer buses are needed overall. Implementing that change means schools in the Homer area up to Ninilchik would have to switch to staggered start and stop times.
In community meetings this spring, district representatives said that the earliest that change would happen is fall 2017, and would involve community input and feedback. But at the school board meeting July 11, Dan Castimore, of Soldotna, attempted to block an allocation of money to the transportation fund as a way to allow the district leeway to change the current busing contract so bus services could be reduced as soon at this fall, 2016.
“I don’t disagree that we made commitments to not implement this until the following year. But I also know that we’re talking about deficit spending, we’re talking about how we have to look at cutting all kinds of different programs. And here’s a $500,000 item that benefits one community. We’re all going to have to feel the pain for that,” Castimore said.
Board members Marty Anderson, of Sterling, and Lynn Hohl, of Seward, voted along with Castimore. But the measure was voted down by the rest of the board.
Wanting to keep their word to the public was the prevailing sentiment. Here’s John Kelly, of Homer.
“It paves the way to reduce the number of buses serving students on the lower peninsula, and that’s contrary to what was communicated in the community meetings that we held down there with the timeline. So we are trying to save that money but we owe it to the communities on the southern peninsula to follow the timeline that was stated,” Kelly said.
Liz Downing, of Homer, says that a change of this nature requires time for communities to adjust.
“The impact on individuals is truly significant. People may need to quit their jobs or may lose their jobs due to the conflict in family and work timing, afterschool services for kids, it will not only impact the kids but employees of different organizations,” Downing said.
The board does plan to continue discussion on changing to a two-tier bus system on the southern peninsula, but no action toward that end was made in this board meeting.
The board also was scheduled to vote on a new vendor for its busing system, for the next 10-year contract period, scheduled to begin in 2018. Apple Bus Company, headquartered in Cleveland, Missouri, was selected as the best option of companies submitting proposals. First Student currently provides transportation services.
The school board postponed action on the busing contract. The next meeting is scheduled for Aug. 8 at the George A. Navarre Borough Building in Soldotna.
