Agenda - 06-30-1992 - Laserfiche WebLink

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'w TO: Orange County Commissioners FROM; Nancy K. Steelman DATE: June 8, 1992 SUBJECT: Recurring capital budget for the Chapel Hill- Carrboro City Schools I have worked during the three years since my arrival in Chapel Hill to improve the safety of student transportation in the state. During those three years I have served on the Transportation Advisory Committee of the Chapel Hill - Carrboro City Schools. I have worked in conjunction with the School Bus Safety Task Force convened by the Governor to recommend improvements to the student transportation system. My concern for providing students with safe, efficient school bus transportation motivates my request that you support the school district's request for an increase in funding for recurring capital expenditures to $900,000. Expenditures for new school buses are made from the recurring capital fund. Safe, efficient school bus transportation is an issue the Chapel Hill,- - Carrboro City Schools have been working diligently to address. When I arrived here, students were standing on buses as a result of overcrowding. As a result of safety concerns over this practice on the part of parents and district personnel, much progress has been made. However, aging buses and an inadequate number of buses to meet increasing enrollments threaten to undermine recent safety improvements. Inflation has diminished the buying power of each dollar allocated to the school district. Compounding the effect of inflation, enrollment has grown by 1000 students in the past 5 years, and further growth is anticipated. In the past 5 years, the district has been able to add only 3 full - -sized buses and 3 mini- buses. The school board's request that the $750,000 appropriation received for the last 5 years be increased to $900,000 will help the district meet its transportation needs. These needs include replacing aging buses and adding additional ones to meet increased student enrollment. Several years ago the Chapel Hill- Carrboro City Schools implemented a computerized Transportation Information Management System (TIMS) to help maximize equipment and fuel efficiency. Bus routes were redesigned to make the most productive use of buses and drivers. In addition, the district adopted a tiered- - opening strategy for its schools so buses could rake several "runs." One aspect of this strategy that pleased many parents was that elementary students were no longer riding with middle school and high school students. The implementation of TIMS has kept cost increases to a minimum, even with growing enrollments, and has enabled existing buses to be operated efficiently and