Transportation bill advances
CSBA co-sponsor of SB 1137; equalizes reimbursements, provides COLA
Published: May 1, 2014
With strong bipartisan support, the Senate Education Committee recently approved SB 1137, by Sen. Norma Torres, D-Pomona, that would equalize reimbursement rates for home-to-school transportation costs.
The bill—which updates the state’s legacy reimbursement amount—is co-sponsored by CSBA and the California School Employees Association, with support from the Small School Districts Association, the California Association of School Business Officials and a number of districts and counties from around the state.
Currently, some school districts and county offices of education receive less than 10 percent of their approved costs,while others get more than 80 percent. SB 1137 would increase the reimbursement rates for districts receiving less than 50 cents on the dollar, and provide an annual cost-of-living adjustment.
“Making sure children can get to and from school safely needs to be a top priority,” said Sen. Torres in a statement. “Today we have children that have to walk home from school along busy roads and intersections. In some cases children have been injured.”
Estimates of how much specific entities could receive under the bill and an SB 1137 fact sheet are available on Sen. Torres’ website. The bill next goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee for consideration.