Clash over buses to Oakland schools
AC Transit on collision course with parents and district
“We definitely feel this is an issue of equity for our students. Why would we have to pay when nobody else does?” John Sasaki, Oakland schools spokesman
Parents and Oakland school officials are expected to jam an AC Transit board meeting Wednesday to protest the proposed elimination of bus routes to Skyline High, Montera Middle and Community Day schools.
Hundreds of students now take the buses each day to and from the schools, which are located in the Oakland hills, where public transit is minimal or nonexistent.
The meeting Wednesday could be the first step in eliminating service to the schools as of this fall. The AC Transit board is expected to address whether to hold a special public meeting to get input on the proposal. A vote on the issue could come in May.
The meeting is part of a battle between the school district and the transit agency over bus service to the three sites — and who should pay the extra costs to get students to class.
Oakland Unified had been paying AC Transit $2.25 million annually to help cover the costs, which far exceed fare revenue, but abruptly cut off payments in January. District officials have argued that other districts and private schools that receive similar service aren’t paying anything.
“We definitely feel this is an issue of equity for our students,” said John Sasaki, a district spokesman. “Why would we have to pay when nobody else does?”
Sasaki said students pay full youth fare for the rides, as do those from other districts or private schools.
But AC Transit officials see the situation differently. They say making trips to the three schools in the hills costs significantly more than supplemental service
provided to other schools in the region — with 56 buses required each day.
Overall, AC Transit spends $10 million to provide supplemental rides to schools across the East Bay, and $4.45 million for schools just in Oakland, said agency spokesman Robert Lyles. The three hills schools amount to $3 million of that, he said.
In other words, he said, Oakland gets supplemental bus service like other cities or schools, and on top of that they get even more because of Skyline, Montera and Community Day School.
“We can say it’s lopsided,” Lyles said. “We’re not designating the level of resources to any other schools to the extent we’re offering that service to just three schools.”
Even if the transit agency eliminates special routes to the three hills schools, it would continue to provide supplemental service to other public schools in the city.
District and transit officials have been working to resolve the situation, but haven’t found an amicable solution that would continue the routes after this school year.
Oakland has little wiggle room. The district is struggling financially, looking for cuts to save about $10 million needed to pay bills through June.
It appears that the district is trying to balance its books at AC Transit’s expense, Lyles said.
“They see AC Transit as low-hanging fruit,” he said. “OUSD is reneging on their agreement.”
On Monday evening, adding fuel to the feud, the district sent an automated phone call to all families advising them of the AC Transit meeting.
“We decided to inform our families that the meeting is happening because this is something that potentially affects a lot of people,” Sasaki said. “It’s entirely possible some families will choose to go to the meeting and voice their concerns. That’s certainly the American way.”
Lyles, in response, encouraged families to call school board members and demand that they come up with a workable solution.
Parent Naomi Levy, whose son is a sixth-grader at Montera, plans to be at Wednesday’s AC Transit meeting.
“Any dollar that OUSD gives to AC Transit is a dollar they’re not spending in the classroom,” she said. “The No. 1 mission of OUSD is to educate kids. The No.1 mission of AC Transit is to provide transportation.”
But right now, it’s like the two public agencies are playing a game of chicken, leaving students potentially in the lurch, Levy said.
“Bottom line,” she said, “is if these bus lines don’t run, there are going to be a lot of kids who have no way to get to school.”