Mont. Co. schools to charge for bus rides?
Montgomery's public school students in magnet, immersion and other programs could be charged for bus rides to their schools if a bill proposed by the county's state legislators passes next year, The Gazette reports.
Sen. Richard S. Madaleno (D-Dist. 18) of Kensington, who drafted the bill, said he introduced it to give Montgomery County Public Schools a method to charge students in optional regular education programs for transportation provided by the school system. The delegation will hold a public hearing on the proposed bill at 7 p.m. Dec. 6 at the Stella Werner Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave., Rockville.
Last year, as an option among broad budget cuts, the Board of Education considered the elimination of transportation for students attending magnet programs. It later backed off after an outcry from parents and students. The cuts would have saved the school system $4.9 million, or $1,026 for each of the 4,775 students in the programs, during a year in which the operating budget was cut from $2.2 billion in fiscal 2010 to $2.1 billion in fiscal 2011.
The proposed bill would repeal a Maryland law that prohibits Montgomery County from charging for transportation of students to certain programs, such as magnet, foreign language immersion and International Baccalaureate. Madaleno said Montgomery County is the only county in Maryland prohibited from charging a fee to students for transportation in these situations.
Read more about a plan to charge students in special magnet programs for bus service in The Gazette.
By
Washington Post editors
| November 8, 2010; 10:45 AM ET
Categories:
Education, Maryland
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Posted by: MarilynManson | November 8, 2010 11:29 AM | Report abuse
Some actual reporting would go a long way to clarify this story. The bill Senator Madaleno has put forward says nothing about who would pay a bus fee. Let's stick to the facts.
Here is what happened when a $165 per student bus fee was proposed for MCPS students in 1996:
Montgomery Co. House Delegation: Bus fee an infringement on right to free education
http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2010/11/montgomery-co-house-delegation-bus-fee.html
Posted by: jzsartucci | November 8, 2010 11:51 AM | Report abuse
As long as EVERY parent (even those subsidized by Uncle Montgomery and Aunt Maryland) has to pay. And they have to pay for EACH kid. None of this "Oh they are disadvantaged" nonsense and mom is preggers with the fourth kid. Your kid rides a bus to school, you pay. I'll bet if they had to pay AND the driver could evict kids after they act up a couple times, there would be a bunch more parents involved. Excellent idea. Make them pay for lunch too. If they live in MoCo, they should be able to afford it.
Posted by: stopthemadness | November 8, 2010 2:17 PM | Report abuse
As long as EVERY parent (even those subsidized by Uncle Montgomery and Aunt Maryland) has to pay. And they have to pay for EACH kid. None of this "Oh they are disadvantaged" nonsense and mom is preggers with the fourth kid. Your kid rides a bus to school, you pay. I'll bet if they had to pay AND the driver could evict kids after they act up a couple times, there would be a bunch more parents involved. Excellent idea. Make them pay for lunch too. If they live in MoCo, they should be able to afford it.
Posted by: stopthemadness | November 8, 2010 2:18 PM | Report abuse
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if they offered exemptions for low income families, i'd consider it.