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Beverly adopts new fee schedule for bus rentals to better reflect cost
Summary
To recover unattended costs and align charges to driver time and mileage, the district approved a shift from a flat 4‑hour flat fee to a duration + mileage + admin model for transportation details; committee approved 5–0.
The Beverly School Committee voted Wednesday to change how the district charges for bus rentals and transportation details, replacing a destination‑based flat fee with a time‑and‑mileage model intended to capture driver shift minimums, mileage, tolls and an administrative surcharge.
Director of finance Emma Pugliese told the committee the prior flat-fee system (a four‑hour minimum) created administrative inefficiencies and led to detail losses last year in the $15,000–$20,000 range. She proposed fees that include salary costs (shift minimums), a per‑mile fee for fuel and tolls, and an administrative component to cover payroll taxes and coordination time. “People say this is what the price is. They expect that this is what the price is. Should their trip run longer than four hours, they will send in a check...and it's a back and forth,” Pugliese said.
Members asked whether athletics should be billed similarly; Pugliese noted athletics currently pays only driver time and does not cover tolls or administrative overhead, and that a change could better align costs to the athletics budget. The committee voted 5–0 to adopt the new structure.
The administration will implement the revised fee schedule and review it annually to keep rates aligned with collective bargaining agreements and costs.
