School Committee Approves Bus Fee Hike

The School Committee voted 4-1 Thursday night to raise bus fees.

School Committee member Brian Gross was the member who voted against the bus fee increase.

Taking the bus to and from school will now cost $330 per student -- $360 if paid late -- and no early discount or family price cap.

"We've gotten some feedback, a couple of comments, mostly folks who are saying this is a tough thing to do to people with larger families, and yes it is," School Committee Chair Chris Allen said.

The fee hikes will be aimed at closing the schools budget gap and keeping the bus system self-sustaining. Although the schools will be getting almost $78,000 more than expected due to increased state aid, the schools budget is still not trimmed down to the budget Town Manager Andrew Maylor is proposing.