Granite board weighs which bus routes to keep as state funding shifts

President Nicole McDermott presided over a Nov. 26 study session at which Dr. Dave Gatti, Granite School District transportation director, told the board that changes in state funding have left some routes underfunded and that the district receives "about 80%" of costs for state-funded reimbursable routes. The presentation flagged the opening of a new DLI school as a factor complicating next year’s bussing budget.

The issue matters because the district must decide which routes and special programs it will continue to subsidize beyond what the state pays. "With each state funded reimbursable route, the district only receives about 80% funding," Dr. Gatti said, and the board was told the district uses the state's "transportation payment in lieu of" option sparingly. Todd Hauber, the district's business administrator, asked Gatti to explain that option; Gatti said that when a student qualifies for a bus but cannot safely ride, the district may reimburse the parent at the federal mileage rate per day and that the state reimburses a portion of those costs.

Board Member Karyn Winder urged the board to decide which special programs it will commit to fund going forward. The board directed Superintendent Benjamin Horsley to convene a committee to review each unfunded bus route, to recommend whether the district should continue specific routes (including bussing for ALC students), and to report back with comparisons of how surrounding districts handle ALC and DLI bussing.

The discussion did not produce a final budget decision; the board was told current routes will be funded for this fiscal year but asked staff for recommendations for the next school year. The board did not take a formal vote on route eliminations or restorations during the session.