California legislature restores school transportation budget, but just for this year

Cuts to school bus transportation in California started Jan. 1, hitting rural schools especially hard. School officials, parents and students in rural districts rallied, though, and Teresa Watanabe of the Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that the state legislature restored $248 million to the school transportation budget.

Senate Bill 81 will affect all districts, regardless of location or size. In order to restore funding, lawmakers agreed to cut per-student funding across the board by $42. "We're very happy because at least the cut is being done in a more equitable manner," said Edgar Zazueta, the Los Angeles Unified School Board's chief lobbyist. The district filed a lawsuit against the state when cuts were announced last year to have its funding restored. In Death Valley, students are bused more than 2 hours to school every day, and school board member Debra Watterson said the restoration of funding was a big relief. Restoration could be very short-lived, though: Gov. Jerry Brown has eliminated the school transportation budget in his 2012-2013 budget. (Read more)