WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. March 22, 2007: At the Board of Education hearing on the budget Monday evening, the district was taken to task by several members of the audience for spending more money per student than the New Rochelle school district, which serves 4,000 more students. The cost to educate one student in White Plains is approximately $25,000 a year compared to $17,000 a year to educate one student in New Rochelle. This prompted a look into the cost of transportation between the two districts by WPCNR
New Ro Supplements its Private School Bus Transportation to Elementary Students with Bee Line Bus subsidies for Grades 6-12. Photo, WPCNR News
The Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors pointed out that New Rochelle had a larger class size ratio, and White Plains offered more programs, and programs for the disabled, and White Plains paid more benefits that New Rochelle does. Board of Education member Donna McLaughlin stated that New Rochelle used county buses to transport their students, which White Plains does not do, as a reason why White Plains cost per student overall was higher than New Rochelle. This is not really the case.
Ms. McLaughlin was correct in saying New Rochelle uses county Bee-Line buses. However, she was apparently unaware that the New Rochelle district uses private traditional yellow school buses for Elementary School students in Grades K through 5, and County Bee-Line Buses only for grades 6 through 12, (Middle School and High School) according to Maggie Skau, Public Information Officer for the New Rochelle School District.
In White Plains buses from White Plains Bus Company transport students to the five White Plains elementary schools and two Middle Schools, and private schools. Once a student advances to the high school, they are responsible for their own transportation, either by rides from parents, cabs, or by paying to ride the school bus to the high school each day.
Who Rides the Bee Line in New Ro? And They Are Reimbursed.
In New Rochelle, middle school students ride the Bee Line buses because the Middle Schools and New Rochelle High School are on a Main North South route through New Rochelle, Ms. Skau told The CitizeNetReporter. Skau said that New Ro’s Grade 6 bus riders are 100% subsidized by her school district, and the Grades 7 to 12 students are all subsidized at a lower reimbursement for the costs of riding the Bee Line buses to and from Middle School and the high school.
Transportation to White Plains High School is not subsidized in any way by the school district for the 2,000 students that attend there.
WP Pays $10.44 Cents a Bused Student Every School Day. $11.44 Next Year.
You could take a cab.
According to the most recent edition of Facts & Figures, published by the Westchester Putnam School Boards Association, based in Larchmont, White Plains reports it is busing 4,162 students in 2006-2007, (3,821 to public, 341 to non-public schools).
The Transportation Budget for 2006-2007 is $7,914,692. Based on 182 days of school, this has Mr. and Mrs. White Plains paying $1,901 per bused student – which computes to $10.44 a day – slightly less than a round trip cab ride across White Plains to White Plains High School. (Splendid Taxi charges $5.80 to take you from Merritt Avenue on the White Plains West Side to White Plains High School.)
In New Rochelle, Facts & Figures reports, New Ro is busing 6,203 students of its 11,000 population (5,500 to public schools, 703 to non-public schools). Their Preliminary Transportation Budget for 2007-2008 is $11,673,527, New Ro's Ms. Skau reports. Doing the basic math, WPCNR sees New Ro paying $1,882 per student for busing their 6,203 students next year which works out to $10.34 per student bused a day.
In the White Plains Preliminary Budget for 2007-2008 their Transportation Cost is budgeted to rise $755,308 to $8.67 Million. That computes to Mr. and Mrs. White Plains paying $2,083 per bused student next year or $11.44 a day per student a $1.10 more than New Rochelle.
