State boosts school bus funding for regional districts

State boosts school bus funding for regional districts

By Debbie LaPlaca CORRESPONDENT

DUDLEY — Regional school districts statewide will see an estimated 26 percent bump in state funds for busing costs, which represents 90 percent of the promised 100 percent reimbursement.

State Sens. Richard T. Moore, D-Uxbridge, and Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, met Thursday with regional school officials from southern Central Massachusetts to announce an $18.7 million increase in state funding for regional school transportation.

The state's fiscal 2015 budget, approved by Gov. Deval L. Patrick last month, increased regional school transportation funding from last year's $51.5 million to $70.2 million this year.

"This will be a great help for next year's budget to reduce what our towns pay toward transportation," said William J. Trifone, finance director for the Dudley-Charlton Regional School District.

The state law that governs public schools was amended in 1952 with the promise of 100 percent state reimbursement of busing costs for regional school districts.

"The incentive to regionalize was to get the full transportation reimbursement," Mr. Moore said. "That hasn't been met yet, but bringing it to this level of funding is something to celebrate."

In recent years, state reimbursement dropped with the declining economy; from 89.9 percent in fiscal 2008 to 66.4 percent last year.

The most significant drop occurred when it went from 85.7 percent in 2009 to 57.7 percent in 2010.

This year's push for the 26 percent increase was led by the two senior senators, who represent 18 regional school districts, Mr. Brewer said.

Mr. Moore serves as Senate president pro tempore. Mr. Brewer is chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, and this year served as co-chairman of the State Budget Conference Committee.

"Ninety percent is a gold standard of where we would like to go," Mr. Brewer said.

The announcement comes months after most regional school budgets have been adopted.

For Dudley-Charlton Regional, 90 percent reimbursement is $564,935 more than the 66.6 percent that was anticipated when the budget was adopted.

Mr. Trifone said it is too early to say how the unexpected money will be used but he will formulate a plan for school committee approval.

For Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School in Charlton, the 90 percent represents $231,875 more than what was budgeted.

Bay Path Business Manager Dean Iacobucci said the budget was adopted with a projected 65.2 percent reimbursement, based on the governor's budget numbers released in January.

The additional state funds, he said, will be used to offset the cost of transportation this year, which is higher than what was estimated for a new three-year transportation contract.

Also attending the meeting at Shepherd Hill Regional High School in Dudley were representatives from Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School, Tantasqua Regional School District/Union 61, Southern Worcester County Regional Vocational School District, Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School and Dudley-Charlton Regional.