While Glencoe School District 35 will suspend assessing student fees next school year, the cost to ride the school bus will go up, after the school board agreed to a transportation fee increase at its recent meeting.
At the March 10 board meeting, school board members voted to increase the round-trip school bus fee to $560 from the current $500, and a one-way trip will cost $300, up from $250 now. The increase will be effective for the 2022-2023 school year.
It marks the first increase in transportation fees in approximately 10 years, according to District 35 officials.
School board members signed off on the increase with an acknowledgement of the changing economic forces including inflation and current gas price spikes.
“I don’t know if it is a temporary thing, but for sure you want to capture that aspect of it,” board member Jason Kunreuther said recent rise in the cost of goods – including gas.
In the current fiscal year, 258 out of district’s approximate 1,200 students use the bus at least one way, according to school board documents. The school district is charged $285,390 from the bus company and this year collected fees of $112,750 from families. The district subsidizes the remainder of the costs, according to SD35 Director of Finance and Operations Jason Edelheit.
He said the district’s costs can increase or decrease since there is a gasoline price rider in the contract, and given the current climate, he is anticipating a surge.
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After deciding to increase the fee, board members discussed how much it would be, with one suggestion to raise it to $600. But there was a consensus that a rise that high would be too steep.
Eventually, the board agreed to raise the round trip fee by $60, making the cost in line with the average charge for the rest of New Trier Township school districts, according to Edelheit.
“There is a sweet spot somewhere,” board President Kelly Glauberman said.
District 35 will continue to offer a hardship waiver that offers a discount up to 90% for families facing financial challenges, Superintendent Catherine Wang said.
The fee could change again for the 2023-2024 school year, since Glauberman requested a commitment from the board to re-examine the issue next year.
The transportation fee increased followed last month’s board decision to suspend registration fees for all students for the 2022-23 school year.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelancer.