In the opening hours of its final budget drafting session of the year June 18, the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee voted not to make deep cuts to public school transportation.
Gov. Jack Markell proposed a $24.6 million school bus funding cut in his recommended budget, including a rule that would have forced school districts to bear 25% of their pupil transportation costs.
The JFC voted to restore $20.9 million of the governor’s cuts, doing away with the cost-sharing plan as well as a proposed cut in payments to bus companies for routes longer than 30 miles.
The remaining $3.9 million in cuts reflects a reduction in the number of new bus routes school districts will be allowed to add next year and a provision requiring districts to pay for “hazardous routes,” which are created to keep students from walking along or crossing dangerous roads.
The committee also preserved $1.8 for school transportation reimbursements made to parents of private school students.
In addition, the JFC voted in language creating a committee of state and local officials charged with examining ways to drive down school transportation costs.
Before lunch, JFC members approved $1.8 million to help phase in all-day kindergarten in the Christina School District. They also preserved staff and funds for the Delaware Advisory Council on Career and Technical Education, which the governor had recommended by absorbed by the Department of Education.
