Stop busing high schoolers, Sen. Chris Buttars suggests

A state senator says school districts should stop busing high school students as a way to save money.

Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, told the Legislative Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee on Monday the move would save as much $75 million.

Public education needs to find $293 million to balance its budget. But the agency also has to fund about 11,000 new students, which will cost an additional $75 million.

Lawmakers asked questions and offered suggestions while state education officials and district leaders told tales of woe during Thursday's all-day budget meeting.

Regarding cutting high school buses, state Superintendent Larry Shumway said, "All proposals ought to be on the table, but people should think carefully about the effects of various cuts before finalizing any decisions. It's awfully hard for students to learn when they can't make it to the school building."

Education officials said going without buses would be a challenge for rural school districts. "I don't think we could hold school without transportation for our high school kids," Millard School District Superintendent David Taylor told the committee.

More than half of Millard's students are on free and reduced-price lunch, and most teenagers don't own cars. District officials joked that their high school students are not about to start driving four-wheelers and tractors to school.

Buttars noted 75 percent of the state's student population is along the Wasatch Front.

Granite School District Superintendent Stephen Ronnenkamp said keeping students in school is "our biggest challenge."

In a frustrating financial climate, many districts that have spent years building programs and are now having to tear them down to save dollars.

Rep. Tim Cosgrove, D-Murray, said he wonders how many people could trim a week of their salary and survive. "It's tough to ask the teachers to balance the budget on their backs," he said.

District officials are discussing year-round schools, increased class sizes and the flexibility of using property tax dollars for the general fund instead of being slated for school buildings. For the past year, Tooele School District has closed its buildings on Sundays when some teachers would come in to do paperwork and use lights and heat.

Regarding teacher layoffs, Taylor says it's different for rural districts such as Millard. "We meet them in the supermarket and sit with them in church," he said. "They are real people with real names."

Buttars questioned whether districts are cutting enough administrators.

"What school do you not want to have a principal at?" Ronnenkamp said. The superintendent added the district actually has experimented with one principal representing two schools, and the result was an "absolutely dismal failure."

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