7105 R&P                         Use of School Transportation Services                            7105 R&P

1. Field Trips and Other Instructional Use of School Buses (Yellow Buses):

1. Guidelines:

·   Field trips and other instructional program uses:

1.       Use of school buses for field trips and other instructional use will be confined to the hours of 9:30 a. m. and 1:30 p.m. (which is 15 minutes after the third tier bell time in the morning and 45 minutes prior to the first tier bell time in the afternoon).

2.       A school bus used for extra transportation shall be limited to 100-mile round trips.

3.       Extra use of a school bus shall conform to North Carolina law and regulations on school bus transportation and with Board Policy 5430 and regulations governing school trips.

·   Middle school and high school after school activity routes:

1.       Principals may request establishment of after school activity buses within the first two weeks of school.

2.       If the after school route qualifies for state funding, there will be no charge to the requesting school.

3.       However, schools will be charged for all non-qualifying after school activity routes.

2. Requests for school bus transportation for field trips or instructional programs:

·   Requests must be approved by the principal/designee and entered in Oracle WCS Bus Field Trip database at least three (3) weeks prior to the date of the trip.

·   Form 3705 must be signed by the budget manager authorizing mileage charges and submitted to the Rock Quarry Road Transportation Department at least two (2) weeks prior to the date of the field trip.

·   The filed trip coordinator will approve the request in Oracle and forward a copy of the request to the District Transportation Office for scheduling of the buses and drivers.

·   The field trip coordinator will file a copy of the request at Rock Quarry Road for service and mileage billing purposes.

·   A Bus Driver's and Principal's Report for extra transportation approved by the Principal/Designee shall be filed with the Transportation District office for payment of driver charges through payroll.

3. Field trip billing process:

·   The Transportation Department will charge the driver salary through payroll to the budget code entered in Oracle for the trip.

·   Mileage charges are submitted to Accounting monthly for processing of a journal entry to code the costs to the code entered into Oracle for the trip.

·   Costs are determined by the current DPI Refund Rate Calculator for miles traveled and the driver’s hourly rate for time.

·   The mileage charge will begin and end at the home base district office of the bus used rather than at the school making the trip.

·   Payment for this service will be made either from the individual school account or from funds included in the budget. 

·   Cost of student transportation service rendered by another county unit shall be the responsibility of the school using a bus for a field trip.

2. Factors to be Considered in Review of Requests for Transportation Within 1-1/2 miles of School: The Transportation Director will consider the following factors, not necessarily in priority order, in reviewing requests for transportation within 1-1/2 miles of the school:
1. Vehicular traffic on roads along the walking routes
2. Condition of roads and topography
3. Speed limits and traffic signals
4. Safety and adequacy of walkways
5. Commercial or industrial development along the walk route
6. Costs associated with creating additional stops

3. Procedures for Application for Transportation of Ineligible Students: Parents/guardians may request transportation for ineligible students in accordance with the following process:
1. The parent/guardian shall submit a request, using the Transportation Service Request form located on the WCPSS Transportation web site, to the principal/designee.
2. The principal/designee will review the request and forward it to the Transportation Department.
3. Transportation Department staff shall review the application and, upon making a decision, inform the parent/guardian and the principal in writing.
4. The request may be approved if all of the following apply:

·   Provision of transportation is in the best interest of the student; and

·   Will not interfere with the proper administration of the school; and

·   Will not interfere with the safe, efficient and timely transportation of assigned students; and

·   Will not endanger the health or safety of other students; and

·   the student can be accommodated in space available on an existing bus; and

·   Will not increase the time required for the assigned bus to run its route, the number of buses required, or the cost of transportation services.

·   Parent/Guardian agrees to have the student at the assigned stop for the child’s address registered with Growth and Planning.

5. If all of the conditions are met and the request is approved, such approval is conditioned upon the parent/guardian agreeing that if an eligible student  should require transportation on the bus, and space is not available, then the most recently accepted ineligible student will be bumped from the bus.  A two (2) week notice will be given to students who are bumped.
6. All approvals of ineligible students are for the current school year only.  Parents must resubmit requests for transportation each year.