Trustees flag rising busing costs and question rural high-school service levels

Trustees raised concerns about escalating transportation costs for rural routes and asked whether continued high-school support at small campuses is sustainable given budget pressure.

Duncan asked, "Would it be appropriate to consider discontinuing the bus to Chiniak?" noting that busing costs are substantially over budget and that the board must weigh whether to continue high-school support at every rural location. Jim and others said they want feedback from the budget advisory committee and more bus-route data before recommending service changes.

Staff reported current bus runs continue to operate and agreed to return route-level cost information so the board can evaluate trade-offs between transportation expenses and local educational access.