Paso Robles School Board considers eliminating bus routes for most students
–At their most recent meeting, the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees discussed several new bus route options to reduce spending but ultimately tabled discussion until another meeting. Chief Business Officer Brad Pawlowski presented a cost comparison that showed the Paso Robles students pay $190 per year to ride the bus, which is $10 less than Templeton, but $10 greater than the San Luis Coastal District. Students in the Lucia Mar School District pay $280 per year.
Staff recommended option No. 2 proposed by Pawlowski, which would eliminate general education busing with the exception of Heritage Ranch High School students and San Miguel High School Students. Those routes would utilize three buses and three permanent school bus drivers. The district would also provide seven special needs routes to serve 65-70 students in adaptive school buses. There would be three additional special needs van routes to serve hard of hearing Special Education students and several non-ambulatory students.
Option No. 2 would reduce the district budget by $150,000. The Board of Trustees decided to table the discussion until more information can be gathered.
The district is operating at a deficit and needs to cut about $2 million dollars from its budget to get the budget reserve above 3-percent in the next fiscal year, as per state requirements.
