School Committee Looks at Cutting the Number of Students Riding the Bus

The Watertown School Committee has not decided whether to cut back school bus service next year, and school rental fees may rise.

The Budget and Finance Subcommittee examined the fiscal 2012 budget Monday night at Watertown High School for the first time since sought by the School Committee.

Since then the district received positive news from the state regarding the special education Circuit Breaker, which should be at least the $400,000 school officials had hoped for, said Vice Chairman John Portz.

In earlier budget discussions, the School Committee examined whether to bus only those required by the state – children living more than 2 miles from school – to save money.

The current limit is 1.5 miles. This year 313 students ride school buses, but only 21 students live farther than 2 miles from school.

Limiting bus service would save about $50,000, and would reduce the number of buses used in town from three to one. School Committee Chairman Anthony Paolillo said he is not sure the move would be worth that much change to save that amount, plus many have not heard of the changes.

“We will hear from parents,” Paolillo said. “I don’t think people affected by these busing changes have heard about it.”

He wanted to see if increase fees could pay for the bus, but Allie Altman, director of Business Services, said because so many families receive need-based fee waivers, the fee would have to nearly double from $270 to more than $500 a year.

Watertown’s bus contract is up for renewal, so Altman said she will ask for bids for two options – going with the status quo and a system with one bus. She expects the rate to increase, so the savings could be more than $50,000.

Altman proposed raising the rental fees for school facilities by $10 for school and Watertown groups and $20 for for-profit groups. The money pays for custodial time for rooms, auditoriums and gyms rented out by groups.

The increases would raise an estimated $30,000, with $23,000 from rentals by for-profit groups, Altman said.

Portz did not like the idea of charging PTOs and other school groups to use of facilities. He added that he does not see why the fee would increase $10 per room, no matter the size. He wondered if a percentage increase could be used instead.

Other areas discussed by the School Committee included:

• Adding $25 to the activity fee at the middle school for students only participating in clubs, not sports. The new total would be $50.
• Increasing the athletic fee at the high school to $200 from $175. Students will be able to play three sports for that fee.