NASHUA – The move of the Academy for Science and Design to Nashua this fall will come at a cost to the Nashua School District, which is required by state law to provide and cover the cost of busing for city students attending the charter school.

The charter school, which is moving from Merrimack to a larger space at 486 Amherst St. in Nashua, enrolls 122 students from Nashua. Of those, roughly 100 have requested busing, which will cost the Nashua School District nearly $85,000.

At a meeting of the Nashua Board of Education Monday night, Superintendent Mark Conrad told board members that busing the school’s students would require at least two additional buses, at about $42,000 each per school year.

The charter school announced its move to the city in April, after the district had already finalized its budget for the current fiscal year. Increased transportation funding was not included in that budget and Conrad told the board he was concerned about the district’s ability to find the money.

“Part of the issue for us is that we’ve been reducing transportation costs over the years,” he said. “So any additional requirement really taxes our current system.”

Under state law, school districts are required to provide transportation to residents attending charter schools within the city limits. Whether districts are responsible to pay for that transportation, however, has been a matter of debate.

The Manchester School District drew the state’s attention last month when officials removed funding for charter school transportation, thinking the funding was optional.

State Education Commissioner Virginia Barry wrote to Manchester school officials last week to warn that a state law passed this year “explicitly requires the district to fund such costs.”

The Nashua district received similar guidance from Barry, who advised in a letter that charter schools are only required to fund “added costs” for transportation. All other transportation needs must be provided and funded by the district.

Barry classified “added costs” as the price of transportation for charter students outside of the transportation already provided to other city students.

If the district provides busing to local students on early-release days and field trips, for example, it must provide, and fund, the same for Nashua’s charter school students.

But if ASD wanted transportation for their students for afternoon tutoring sessions, something not provided for other public school students, the charter school would have to pay for it.

Conrad said he and ASD officials initially interpreted the state law the way Manchester school leaders did, and the charter school was not planning on asking the city for transportation services this year, assuming they would have to bear the costs.

The charter school came back to the district recently, however, after learning of the situation in Manchester, said David Rauseo, director of transportation for the Nashua School District.

The school is still working to finalize exactly how many of their students live in Nashua, and how many will be looking for bus transportation.

ASD Director Jennifer Cava said there are 122 Nashua students attending the charter school, a number that could grow in coming years as the school aims to expand.

Conrad said this could place a further burden on the district, particularly if an arts-focused charter school opens up in the city next fall. Despite the challenge, it is the district’s obligation, he said.

“It’s a requirement we have, but it may come at the cost of other resources for district,” he said. “We just hope that in the long run the additional resources are there.”

While students would likely be attending a different city school, and riding a school bus, if they weren’t attending the charter school, Conrad said that busing the same number of students to several different schools can create some inefficiencies.

Inefficiencies is what Rauseo said he has been working for several years to do away with.

Since his arrival in 2005, he has been able to eliminate 10 buses, due in part to a reduction in students riding, but also through reorganizing routes.

The cutbacks saved the district about $42,000 a year per bus.

Cava understands the district’s situation, but said her school can’t cover the costs.

“It’s obvious that both the Nashua school district and ASD are both really working toward the ultimate goal, the success of students,” she said. “But we’re all working with limited budgets.”

Board of Education members debated Monday whether the district could use an $85,000 contingency allocated to them by the Board of Alderman last month to help lessen the burden of the extra transportation funds needed this year.

Chief Operating Officer Daniel Donovan said the district has roughly $159,000 available for re-allocation within its budget, including the contingency, but $190,433 in potential uses for the money.

Busing for ASD students is a potential use of some of that money, he said. Other uses include the hiring of another elementary school teacher to help reduce class sizes, which would cost about $44,425, and the $61,768 purchase of new math textbooks for seventh graders, which the board voted Monday to put off until fiscal 2014.

Some board members expressed concern over using contingency funds to pay for transportation costs.

Board member Kimberly Muise said she has spoken in front of the aldermen many times asking for additional funding for teachers and classroom supplies. To use the contingency funds for anything else would feel wrong, she said.

Alderman Diane Sheehan attended the education meeting Monday, and expressed a similar view.

Sheehan suggested district officials ask alderman for additional resources to fund the two buses needed, and said she would support the request.

The board will revisit the issue at their next meeting. The ASD board of trustees will meet Wednesday of next week for the first time in their Nashua location. The meeting will start at 6:30 p.m.

Danielle Curtis can be reached at 594-6557 or dcurtis@nashua
telegraph.com.

Newsletter