State funding poses challenge to offering Hammonton late bus, according to district

Logistics for a Hammonton late bus are more than initially estimated, according to district personnel.

Earlier this year, The Devils’ Advocate published the story “Hammonton students long for late bus” and prompted a community discussion about the transportation issue that students have been aware of for years.

According to Superintendent Robin Chieco, much of the reason that funding is an issue starts at the state level.

“By formula, we are entitled to receive $759,043 in state transportation aid but we only receive $151,898 because the state cannot afford to fund the formula,” she said. “Any additional services that the district provides must be funded through the local budget.”  

The district website public records indicate that $2,016,871, which includes salaries for drivers, aides, mechanic and transportation admin staff, transportation jointures, aid in lieu of transportation, repairs and maintenance, fuel and any other transportation related expenditure.

Additionally, several variables come into play when determining bussing costs such as mileage or route.  The original estimate provided in the last article noted the cost as $1900. However, that is only the cost of 31 days in a month, not for the 171 full days in the school year.

Cost is also concerned with the amount of students who would take advantage of the late bus.  Chieco noted that the late bus provided for the Peer Tutoring program on Wednesday had few students, if any, on some days. The current attendance numbers for Peer Tutoring were unavailable at the time of press.  However, according to the Athletic Director Marni Parks, 307 students participated in after school sports this past fall season, many of which would likely use the late bus.

Another financial considers is that if more people taking the late bus, the route, mileage, and cost would vary daily.

While a late bus was in an original 2002 budget plan, the district appears willing consider it once again. Nevertheless, previous school wide budget cuts, and the state unable to fund the full transportation formula, shows that finances of a late bus appear to be the deal-breaker for the district.