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Transportation
 Transporting your students to and from school may seem
like a detail that can wait until later in your planning process. However,
it is a detail that can impact many other aspects of your school's operation
and should not be considered an afterthought. For example, the
transportation approach you choose can affect your budget, your staffing
requirements, where you house your school and how your school schedule
is configured.
In this section we discuss
State law:
According to MN Stats 124D.10, charter schools have two main options
for transporting students:
Charter schools are required to pick only one of these options and
cannot combine them.
The state provides schools with funds for transportation. In fiscal
year 2004, schools were eligible to receive $223 per student in transportation
aid. Although every pupil generates the same revenue, school districts
are only required to provide transportation to students who live more
than 2 miles from the school and live within the district boundaries.
Charter schools must provide transportation options to all enrolled
students. This is an important issue for charter schools that often
attract students from across a wide number of school districts. Again,
the district is only required to provide transportation within the district
boundary. If a charter elects to have the district provide transportation,
they will generally only provide transportation within their boundaries
and charter schools must arrange alternate transportation for students
outside the district's busing route. Students cannot be dropped off
from outside the district at a district bus stop by parents - the charter
school is responsible for transporting those students. For budgeting
purposes, it is imporant to note that the $223 is part of the general
education basic revenue amount of $4,601, not in addition to this
amount - these dollars go directly to the transportation providers.
Additional "sparsity revenue" revenue may be available to some charter
schools in rural areas (see resources section for more information).
Charter schools must notify the state and their resident districts
annually of their transportation choices - no later than July 1; although
the MDE recommends an earlier date of March 1. A form/survey for completion
is distributed by the state.
Charter schools are required to enter the appropriate MARSS Transportation
Code on the student file and must provide annual school bus safety training
to students (twice per year for kindergarteners.)
If a charter school provides its own transportation, the school is
required to complete the year-end pupil transportation annual report
showing the number of buses used and the annual mileage.
Local ordinances:
Local ordinances about parking and loading and unloading of buses may
affect a charter school's transportation plan and site selection process.
Some local governments may have restrictions and some situations may
be dangerous or undesirable for loading and unloading students. The
Department of Education recommends that before signing a building lease,
the school meet with city/county public works staff to discuss the following
issues:
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Are school buses allowed to stop on the streets around
the site or must they load and unload in a parking area?
-
Will street loading and unloading interfere with
rush hour traffic? If so, what times will be impacted?
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Will businesses or residents in the area ask the
city to limit the times and places where buses can unload and load?
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Will the loading and unloading, block access to alleys
or other private drives?
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Will signs need to be installed to alert motorists
and others that there is a bus loading/unloading area on the street?
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Is there an area for buses to stack up - waiting
to either load or unload?
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More about Options:
Using the District
Many charter schools opt to use the district provided transportation
services. Some pros and cons of this arrangement include:
| Pros |
Cons |
| School district handles all required transportation
needs for eligible resident students, including special education
students. |
District determines which days and what times buses
will arrive and depart each day.District only provides transportation
to students RESIDING within district boundaries. |
| May simplify financial arrangements relating to transportation,
$223 will be sent directly to the district from the state. |
District receives all transportation revenue generated. |
| Costs for transportation generally exceed state revenue
for this purpose. If the district provides transportation they will
be responsible for all costs even if they exceed the state revenue
provided. |
|
If a charter school plans to use district provided transportation,
the Department of Education provides the following advice:
-
Contact the District as soon as possible, as this
may result in better routes and drop-off pick-up times
-
Don't be afraid to meet early with the District transportation
staff, before you sign a building lease. Even if you decide not to
use this method, district transportation staff may be helpful in working
through the transportation issues you will face.
-
Be prepared to be flexible about drop-off and pick-up
times.
Charter School Provided Transportation
If a charter school elects to provide their own transportation, there
are several options:
-
Contract with the district in which the charter school
is located (Minnesota New Country School uses this option)
-
Contract with another school district
-
Contract with a privately owned school bus company
-
Contract with parents of the students (money paid
to parents is based on their respective household incomes)
-
Purchase bus passes from a public transit agency
(only recommended for secondary students)
-
Purchase school buses or vans (Coon Rapids Learning
Center purchased and uses vans and PACT Charter owns its own buses)
| Pros |
Cons |
| Ability to determine start and end times and school
calendar. |
Full cost of providing transportation must be borne
by the school, even if it exceeds state revenue for this purpose
(which it usually does). |
| May have access to transportation method for field
trips and other non-authorized transportation services. |
Additional coordination may be required at the school
level in order to handle transportation responsibilities, including
a year-end report to the state. |
| School receives full amount of transportation revenue. |
Purchase of vehicles can be complicated and a number
of issues need to be addressed (see below). |
| |
School will be responsible for making its own arrangements
for special education students that include transportation needs
in their IEP. |
Special considerations if a charter school chooses to purchase vehicles/buses:
The Minnesota Department of Education suggests that a school consider
the following issues before purchasing buses:
If a school is considering the purchase of vans, the size of the vans
is restricted to a manufacturer rated seating capacity of 10 passengers
or less. Larger vans are not deemed safe because of weak sidewalls and
roll over issues. Even though van drivers are not required to undergo
drug testing, most districts require drivers to take these tests anyway.
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Some helpful hints:
- If a school elects to contract with parents to provide transportation,
consider paying by the mile instead of the child since some households
may contain more than one student.
- If a school contracts with a district or a private school bus company
make sure that expectations are clearly laid out in a written contract
and that the contract includes an escape clause.
- If a school elects to have students use public transportation, the
school can often receive a discount by purchasing bus passes centrally
rather than having individual students take responsibility for the purchase.
- Check in with other charters in the area about cooperating on a transportation
approach. While one school may not be able to afford alternatives to
district provided transportation, several schools working together may
be able to come up with a workable, cost-effective approach.
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Resources:
Linda Schroeder, Minnesota Department of Education, Pupil Transportation,
651-582-8855 or
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General transportation questions.
Bob Fisher, Minnesota Department of Education, Pupil Transportation,
651-582-8776 or
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General transportation questions.
Bob Porter, Minnesota Department of Education, 651-582-8851 or
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Sparsity aid questions.
Duane Bartels, Minnesota State Patrol, School Bus Inspections,
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Minnesota School Bus Operator's Association, www.msboa.com
or 320-274-8313
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