Update: Funding for Trenton Busing Not Permanent

After six weeks of searching for funds to for general education students, a large portion of the more than $446,000 needed for transportation was provided to the district in the form of delinquent taxes.

There were several other cost savings that contributed to the goal of reinstating busing, but delinquent taxes and money initially set aside for the demolition of made up the majority of the funds.

Interim Superintendent Larry Leapley made the recommendation to reinstate general education busing for the 2011-12 school year at a regularly scheduled Trenton Public Schools Board of Education meeting Monday night, and it passed unanimously.

The decision pleased parents in the audience, but the solution is only temporary.

On June 29 the district received notification that they would be receiving more than $233,000 in delinquent taxes.

"This was revenue that was not expected and the superintendent (John Savel) took into consideration that...any additional funds that came into the district, those funds could be used to bring back busing," Leapley said.

Leapley said he used the delinquent tax dollars as a starting point and  began searching for additional funds to pay for busing.

Other sources of revenue came from an improvement in insurance rates and fewer uniforms and physicals required for school employees.

The district also generated revenue for busing by using money raised by the athletic department and rethinking the way overtime hours were being assigned to bus drivers–making it more efficient.

The total from these cost-saving measures and others in the transportation department was more than $41,000.

The total savings added to the delinquent tax revenue was more than $275,000 and the remaining roughly $171,000 needed for busing was taken from the $250,000 previously set aside to demolish Taylor.

"I am recommending that that amount ($171,000) be moved to transportation from the $250,000 that the board has budgeted for the demolition of Taylor Elementary School," Leapley said. "Further, that a one-time transfer of the delinquent taxes be made from the fund balance to transportation."

He added the funds used from the demolition of Taylor would be transferred back in January 2012 with additional anticipated funds.

Since the delinquent tax dollars won't be available for the 2012-13 school year, the funding for general education busing is only enough for the coming school year.

"What we're talking about funding it (busing) with is a one-time collection of delinquent taxes," board member Carol Oakley said.

"If we don't have money at the end of this school year, if we don't get the anticipated reduction in costs that we need or the anticipated increase in school funding, then we'll be sitting here in the same situation next year," Oakley said.

Update: The busing routes for the 2011-12 school year will be exactly the same as last year. Patch will have more on specific routes as the information becomes available.