Schools

District 58 Considers Fee for Busing Services

The District 58 school board in recent months has been discussing the possibility of implementing a fee for busing students.

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Many parents have come to expect student busing as a free service that is provided by area school districts. 

But as the Downers Grove Grade School District 58 receives less and less from the state each year to cover its costs, Superintendent Kari Cremascoli said "busing is becoming a bigger drain on the budget," according to the Chicago Tribune. 

With that in mind, the District 58 school board in recent months has been discussing the possibility of implementing a fee for busing students. During a January board meeting, the school board approved revisions that would allow the flexibility to enact a fee in the future, according to the Jan. 14 District 48 board briefs posted on the school board's website. 

The proposed fee could start in 2014-14, according to the Chicago Tribune, and would be $25-per-family for riders living at least 1.5 miles and would increase a fee for riders within 1.5 miles of the school — or out-of-district — by $9 from $530 to $539. 

The district is also discussing other fees, such as, an increase in the textbook fee — from $100 to 150 for first through eighth grades and $50 to $75 for kindergarten and pre-kindergarten students — which, with the other fees, could amount to $490,000 in revenue for District 58, according to the Chicago Tribune. 

The Chicago Tribune reports District 58 is not required by the state to provide free busing to its students and the school board could  vote on this measure in March. 

TELL US, DOWNERS GROVE PATCH READERS: Should District 58 charge a fee for its busing services?


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