Budget
Transportation has a large budget and is run as a business with cost control as a priority. It takes a lot of money to transport students to and from school. There is much debate about where transportation fits into the CCSD organization. Currently, transportation is under Business and Finance Department because of fuel costs, maintenance, and everything it takes to keep buses on the road. Shannon Evans, the current Transportation Director, made the following observation:
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We like to talk about transportation as being an extension of the classroom because bus drivers are the first interaction a child has with a school employee in the morning and the last encounter at the end of the day. How a driver interacts with the children can determine if they have a pleasant ride to and from school. This interaction sometimes triggers the entire experience children will have at school. Many people debate the idea that the transportation unit should be close to the Instruction Unit because they both do so much in the area of student support. With the 2017 district reorganization and schools having more autonomy and site specific supervision, they have scrapped everything that is not school-related and put that into Central Services. We believe we have a lot to offer at the Instruction Unit table and at the Business and Finance Units. When new schools are built or zone changes are made, it involves transportation. Good decisions that affect the quality education of the child include lengthening the day, providing for after-school activities, after-school tutoring, as well as sporting and fine arts events. However, these benefits come with extra services and additional costs.
State law requires the school district to provide transportation for Special Needs students. All other students are transported as a courtesy in an effort to maintain and increase mandatory school attendance.