The school busing fee in Kelowna should rise from $300 to $350 per student this fall, trustees will hear next week.
An increase is necessary because the school bus system’s total operating costs are forecast to rise from $5.4 million this year to $5.7 million next year, district staff say.
Main drivers for the increase are a two percent raise for bus drivers, the addition of three routes, and the rising cost of gas, they say.
The provincial government provides only $600,000 in direct funding each year for school busing in the Central Okanagan.
Currently, fees paid by the families of the approximately 5,000 students who ride the buses generate only about $1 million annually.
So a public subsidy of $3.8 million was necessary this year, with the money taken from funds that would otherwise go directly to “classroom supports and operations”, officials write in a report going to trustees at a meeting on Wednesday.
Even if the per-student busing fee is raised from $300 to $350 next year, the public subsidy would still have to rise from $3.8 million to $3.9 million, given the system’s rising costs.
Over the years, trustees have taken a back-and-forth approach to school bus fees. A $200 fee was introduced in 2010; it was reduced to $100 in 2012; it was restored to $200 in 2018; and it was raised to $300 in 2020. Walk limits have also been reduced so more children can ride buses.
Each fee increase has generated controversy, with some parents saying they should not have to pay anything for their children to ride school buses. Two surveys on school bus topics generated 3,500 responses two years ago.
The proposal for an increase in fees to $350 will be considered first on Wednesday by a school board committee, with the full board making a decision at a later date.
