DeSoto County schools partner with YMCA; superintendent announces $20 monthly courtesy-busing option for providers

Dr. Bennett, superintendent of the DeSoto County School District, announced a partnership with the YMCA to provide aftercare at every elementary school and said the district will change how it handles courtesy busing under Policy 8645, offering daycare providers the option to buy courtesy busing for $20 per student per month starting this fall.

"Policy 8645 really forbids us from providing courtesy busing for for-profit organizations in any form or capacity," Dr. Bennett said, adding that "we've been doing that really against policy." He said the $20-per-student-per-month option will be made available to providers "including our nonprofits." Dr. Bennett framed the change as an effort to align practice with written policy while continuing to expand aftercare access.

As part of the same effort, Dr. Bennett said the district will donate two older school buses to the YMCA to support the partnership; a previous similar offer to the Boys & Girls Club was declined because the club did not want to assume maintenance and insurance responsibilities. "That will help us a lot in terms of them getting kids to and from their events," he said.

The superintendent described the move as a response to tight fiscal conditions across the state and a way to preserve district transportation resources while enabling aftercare. The announcement did not include a board vote on the policy change at this meeting; Dr. Bennett said implementation would begin this fall and staff will provide details about enrollment and provider agreements.

The board did not adopt a formal, new policy language at the April 14 meeting; further administrative or board action may be required to formalize the fee structure and contractual terms with providers.