Wells resident asks school board to allow reimbursement for two daily parent-driven round trips

Shannon Glasscock, a Campbell Ranch resident, asked the Elko County School District board to add a subsection to student transportation policy JGD that would permit reimbursement to parent/guardian contracted drivers for two round trips when a single round trip is 100 miles or more.

"I would like to request that the school board consider adding a subsection to the student transportation policy ... mileage contracts with parent guardian may consist of reimbursement for 2 round trips when a formal request is submitted and approved by district administration," Glasscock said during the public-comment portion of the meeting. She said she drives a total of 240 miles each day and currently receives reimbursement for a single round trip of 120 miles for 150 school days at 70 cents per mile, which she said totals about $12,600; doubling that reimbursement would be about $25,200, she told trustees.

Glasscock presented cost comparisons she described as outdated estimates for creating a new bus route to serve Gamble Ranch (roughly $54,600) and noted bus purchase estimates of $200,000 to $300,000. She asked the board to consider a narrowly tailored, administratively approved process rather than districtwide automatic reimbursement.

Board members and staff asked clarifying questions and discussed how a formal reimbursement process might be administered. District staff noted that any mileage reimbursement would require a formal, administratively approved request and suggested principals or district administration would evaluate eligibility. No formal action was taken during the session: the item was placed on the agenda to allow trustees to ask questions and to give staff a record of the request for future consideration.

Next steps: staff will retain Glasscocks proposal for further review and the board indicated it may return to the item at a future meeting where a decision could be taken.