SACRAMENTO- A Senate Bill (SB) that would provide much needed funding to get kids to and from school was approved in the Assembly Budget Committee Tuesday.

SB 81 restores $248 million to the “Home-to-School Transportation” program for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011-12 and instead applies the funding reduction equally to school districts, county offices of education and charter schools.

The 2011-12 Budget Act included trigger reductions, which were to be implemented if state revenues fell short of budget estimates.  These trigger cuts included the $248 million cut to Home-to-School Transportation. A cut to school bus funding would unfairly impact low-income students living in rural areas of the Central Valley.  Without SB 81, Fresno County would lose $9.3 million out of the $19.3 million included for this purpose in the current fiscal year.

“Most families rely on school buses to take their children to and from school safely,” Assemblymember Perea said. “In rural areas, public transit is not an option and children cannot walk to school.  A cut of this magnitude will result in parents having to drop off their children at school early before school opens and leaving there without supervision.  Other children would not be able to attend school at all”.

On January 23, Assemblymember Henry T. Perea (D-Fresno) joined dozens of state legislators in calling on Governor Jerry Brown to limit cuts to school bus funding by co-signing a letter to Governor Brown urging him to reconsider these devastating cuts and requesting a different more equitable option. 

Assemblymember Henry T. Perea represents the 31st District in the California State Assembly which includes the central San Joaquin Valley communities of Cutler-Orosi, Dinuba, Firebaugh, Fowler, Kerman, Mendota, Parlier, Reedley, Sanger, San Joaquin, Selma and the city of Fresno.

Contact: Alisha Gallon 661-364-3655