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Brewon School staff urge board to address chronic underfunding and keep B-route bus operators
Summary
Brewon School staff and community speakers told the board the school relies heavily on fundraising and community donations to cover basic operating needs, and urged the board not to eliminate two extra-duty B-route bus operator positions that help prevent route cancellations and support attendance.
Representatives from Brewon School told the board on April 13 that the school depends heavily on community donations and fundraising to meet basic operating needs, and they urged the board to preserve local bus operator positions proposed for elimination.
Susan Moran, secretary at Brewon School, said the school cannot continue to rely on fundraising to cover core expenses such as copy paper (she cited $6,000 per year for copy paper alone) and asked for a promised work session on Brewon funding that had not yet occurred. "We simply cannot go another year without funding," Moran said.
Moran also pressed the board about an agenda item proposing elimination of two 'B-run' extracurricular bus operator positions for Brewon. She said the B-route helped prevent cancellations and improved attendance and that the position had been discussed and negotiated in prior work sessions. Administration replied that the positions are currently structured as extra-duty assignments rather than posted jobs and that, following governance rules, the district must post or offer those duties through the appropriate service-personnel seniority process; the administration proposed offering the service differently next year rather than simply eliminating the transportation coverage.
The board agreed to schedule a Brewon work session (May 11 was proposed as a likely date) to address both the funding concerns and the transportation structure and to provide more detail on proposed reductions that might affect Brewon.
Why it matters: Brewon School leaders say basic school operations and student attendance improvements rely on both local donations and district transportation practices. Eliminating the B-route positions without a structured replacement could increase cancellations and create transportation barriers for families.
What’s next: The board and administration proposed a May 11 work session to examine Brewon’s funding needs and the structure for B-route bus coverage; administration will provide further details on staffing options and posting procedures.
