Jeffco to initiate bus fees

Parents will have to pay either $100 or $150 to transport kids

Parents of students in Jefferson County Schools are digesting what it will mean to fork over $100 next year for kids to ride the bus to neighborhood schools, or $150 to get to option schools.

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How much money are they really gonna save here, when the parents start driving their kids to school and flooding those woefully inadequate parking lots? There's going to need to be paving projects at a bunch of schools to accomodate the increased traffic.

And how much sense will it make to drive your kid to school? For what? To save 100 dollars? With cold start ups and short trips, how much fuel will a parent burn going to and from school on a daily basis? We live but a few miles from the schools. I'd say our round trip was no more than 5 mi. That means I drive 10 miles each day or 50 miles a week. If you generously assume 20 mpg and $3.50/gal it will cost you $8.25/wk to drive your child to school. Or you'll spend $100 in less than 11.5 weeks. I really think the bus charge is much more economical, not to mention green.

I want to know what exactly is happening to the tax money.

When we were in school, the school provided our supplies except for special projects until we were in Junior high.

My eldest is 22 and in her school career I saw it go from a short list of personal supplies she needed to bring to a long list in which the children were not only bringing their own supplies, but stocking the classroom - boxes and boxes of pens and pencils, glue, glue sticks and the required (and I'm being literal) 10 boxes of kleenex each kid had to bring.

For my son, who graduates next week, we not only saw these $50-$100 supply lists, we saw student have to go to buying their TEXTBOOKS. At Evergreen high school in the early 80s, there was a room specifically for books- classroom sets of each book they might want us to read during the course of school year. When I taught in Iowa, same thing. Now my daughter, during her senior year, had to buy a book that the teacher wanted for the class - a book not in their supply. Cost us a whole $5.

My son's sophmore year, I had to buy the textbooks for him - $250- the same amount his sister was spending on textbooks at college. Why? Why are parents having to buy textbooks, something a school should HAVE? And I don't mean those 20 years out of date books I taught out of. These were history books, math books and reading books for english class. I don't balk at the books for english class, but I do at books that should already be in the school, on hand.

So where did the tax money go? Oh, that's right, to pay for all the extra staff Jeffco thinks it needs, staff that never gets near a school but is still part of the school district.

I'm all for it. If it means that our kids are less negatively affected via reduced teachers then I think that is a creative solution. And those on free and reduced meals don't have to pay so they will not be adversely affected.

I want to know what exactly is happening to the tax money.

When we were in school, the school provided our supplies except for special projects until we were in Junior high.

And LH-I remember it this way too- and in our high school days the county mill levy was 1/3 of what it is today. Somehow they had the money to provide books and chalk and even bus rides to school for the students.

Here is one more example of what government does best- collect taxes for a purpose like schools, and over the years - slowly removes that service, or the quality and scope of that service. It's a slick trick!

Local governments do this by diverting the money away from the core functions, and then claiming they are out of money. Somehow- they were able to build a 6 million dollar soccer field at Evergreen high- but now they don't have enough money to run the school bus.

And the next thing they will want is to raise the mill levy for schools again. Here in Jefferson County- about half of all the property taxes collected go to schools. The Jeffco school system gets about $11,800 dollars per year / per student. PLENTY of money.

"I want to know what exactly is happening to the tax money" - Indeed.

One thing is the cost of curriculum. These companies charge a fortune. The administrators who rarely if ever come into contact with a (gasp) student pull down huge salaries. We've turned our schools into profit centers for a few.no one has accountability or a sense of calling. The kids have become the least consideration. I think bus fees are a bad idea if the goal is to see kids in the classrooms. Already the drop off lines at our schools are ridiculous. This will make it worse. Increased sports fees? Absolutely. In factwhy not converrt all those fields to parking lots? Get back to basics.

Excuse me? Buying a curriculum? Holy hells. I sat on curriculum committees - we made our own based on district and state goals and guidelines.

I'm beyond baffled - WHY are teachers no longer creating their own curriculum??????? It's a good part of what you are trained to do!!!


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! And people wonder why I no longer teach...

You know- the taxpayers had a chance to limit local governments ability to do these kinds of things- and they voted against it in the last election.

If you set out 3 trash cans for your Garbage man every week- and every week they took your 3 cans of trash- and then all of a sudden only started to take 1 can a week but charged the same money - we would all get upset. Most of us would be on the phone looking for a new garbage company that actually did what it's supposed to do- empty all 3 cans.

There is a colorado law that says we taxpayers have the right to vote on new taxes. In effect- this is a new tax, charging more money for the same service as before - or for a service we already pay for. Only for local government- they can reduce or eliminate a service without reducing the taxes they charge for it.

It's a pretty good gig if you can get the work! And with government- you keep on paying- you keep on buying what they are selling, even if what they are selling is half of what it used to be. Pretty slick!

When I was in 7th grade, schools were being built fast to accommodate the baby boomers. My mother told me the PTA had to raise the money to landscape the school grounds.

I had never known that. I don't know what else they had to buy for the schools, but it makes me wonder.

I don't believe I had to rent my oboe. They did have the "speciality" instruments for students to use. Did buy the clarinet, though.

Now all those people who moan and groan about paying taxes and not having kids in school have one less thing to gripe about - their taxes aren't paying for students' transportation. I think a fund should be set up for those families that can't afford the transportation fees. I would certainly be willing to contribute. All kids need the opportunity to go to school.