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Charter advocates press for transportation funding options and equity study
Summary
Charter sector leaders urged the Legislature to consider transportation funding for charters, noting charters lack taxing authority and currently receive 0% of transportation aid while districts receive partial reimbursements; they asked for study of obligations and operational implications.
Representatives of charter advocacy groups urged lawmakers to examine whether and how charter schools should receive transportation funding, and to study the policy trade-offs involved.
Royce Van Tassel, executive director of the Utah Association of Public Charter Schools, described prior small appropriations and pilot efforts and said many charters operate commuter models that require lengthy pick-up and drop-off periods. "We have a lot of charter schools across the state that, use buses," Van Tassel said. He noted a previous small appropriation to San Juan School District and a charter school that was not sustained.
Nut graf: Van Tassel highlighted three practical policy questions: (1) what geographic obligation would a charter assume if it accepted transportation funding, given charters have no fixed district boundary; (2) how would required routes and stops be set; and (3) how would transportation funding affect safety concerns tied to long parent pick-up queues? He urged lawmakers to consider models other states use (district or county-based obligations) and to weigh whether taking transportation funding would impose statutory obligations on charter LEAs.
Panelists said the Legislature currently funds up to 85% of approved district transportation costs in statute but historically reimburses a lower share (about 68%); charters get none of that state-funded transportation reimbursement. Van Tassel recommended a careful, multi-year study of whether limited transportation funding could be extended to charter schools and how obligations would be structured.
Ending: Committee members asked follow-up questions about how far charter families travel; presenters estimated many families will travel 15—20 minutes and commute distances vary with population density. Van Tassel said transportation is the "last big frontier" in funding parity and asked the committee to keep studying options.
