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District opens 2025–26 bus registration; district to refund early payment processing overcharges
Summary
Franklin Public Schools opened bus registration for 2025–26, set a June 20 deadline, and will refund families who were overcharged when a payment option error routed early payers to credit-card processing fees instead of the lower eCheck fee.
Franklin Public Schools opened student transportation registration for the 2025–26 school year and said families must register and pay by June 20 to secure bus service; late registrants will be placed on a wait list.
District staff reported a payment-processing issue during the registration launch: families who registered and paid before noon on the launch day were not offered an eCheck option (which carries a 99¢ processing fee) and instead were charged a $15.29 credit-card processing fee. The district identified those households and said it will issue a $14.30 refund (the difference) by mailed check within two to four weeks; staff will contact affected families directly.
School business administrator Colin (first name given in the meeting) and other staff briefed the committee on LinkConnect, the vendor platform used for registration and payment. Colin confirmed the eCheck option is a flat 99¢ fee and that credit-card processing carries the larger fee. Superintendent and committee members credited the new LinkConnect dashboard for improved visibility into registrations; staff reported 742 families had already registered at the time of the meeting.
District staff reiterated operational rules for September: a family must complete registration and payment to hold a seat; families who miss the June 20 deadline will be placed on a wait list and bus assignment is not guaranteed. Bus routes will be posted in August and families can email schoolbus@Franklinps.net with questions.
The committee also discussed proposed changes to transportation fees. Policy subcommittee members said lowering some fees had been discussed as a possible mitigation for families should the town pass a fiscal override; committee members asked whether fee adjustments could be decoupled from the override vote. Some members urged caution about changing fees before the town’s budget outcome is known; staff said if a fee change is predicated on the override, the committee would need to vote no later than June 10, and if not predicated on the override it could be addressed sooner.
No formal fee vote occurred that night. The committee asked staff to confirm a date for any vote on fee changes and to communicate timelines so families can plan. Staff said they would follow up with policy and communicate next steps to the committee and to families.
Quotes in this article come from participants recorded on the meeting transcript: Colin (school business administrator) and Dr. Paul Griffith (school committee member).
