Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-03-25 - AGENDA REPORTS - WSHUHSD TRANSPORTATION (2)AGENDAREPORT City Manager Approval Item to be presented by: Lynn Harris NEW BUSINESS DATE: March 25, 1997 SUBJECT: AMEND JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA AND THE WILLIAM S. HART UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT TO INCLUDE COORDINATION OF FARES AND SERVICE FOR TRANSPORTING STUDENTS BETWEEN HOME AND SCHOOL DEPARTMENT: Public Works BACKGROUND Since September 1992, the William S. Hart Unified High School District (District) has charged a fee of $ 100 per semester to use District -operated school buses for transportation between home and school. Prior to this date, school bus service was free. In addition, the District increased the distance in which students must live from school to use school buses by 1/2 mile to 3 miles for junior high students and 3 1/2 miles for high school students. Since the State of California had not increased the amount of funds available for home to school transportation, these actions were necessary to help reduce a deficit of $750,000 per year to provide school bus service. The result of these two actions was a diversion of many students from using school buses to using City transit buses to travel between home and school. This, coupled with significant growth in the overall student population, has created situations of severe overcrowding on transit buses throughout the Santa Clarita Valley, while some school bus trips have excess capacity. Santa Clarita Transit has welcomed these additional customers and has taken many actions to accommodate them, including acquiring seven used larger buses to provide more capacity and operate additional trips. However, all of the actions taken have not been �nough. Student enrollment will continue to grow along with the demand for more bus service. There does not appear to be any infusion of funding available to either the School District or the City to provide all of the capacity needed to accommodate anticipated demand. The additional funding for school transportation in the FY 1996/97 State Budget is for capital only to replace buses more than 25 years of age. There is no additional funding to provide more school bus service. Without the prospect of additional funding, the City and the School District are proposing to modify the Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) to include coordinated fares and service so that sufficient capacity can be provided without overcrowding on both transit and school buses, and to accomplish this with the resources available. k NGVE' Agenda Item:-!!& The key provisions of the JPA modification will be as follows: 0 Elimination of the fare differential between using school buses and transit buses. The City and School District will jointly plan and schedule bus services to make the best use of each system and to minimize overcrowding. The City and the School District will work together communicating information to families with students. The City and School District will also work together on Summer School locations and bell times so that the City transit system can accommodate those students needing transportation. 0 It is proposed that the agreement will cover a three year period. This proposal is not a panacea. Continued growth in student enrollment will eventually require more bus service. Ultimately more funding will need to be obtained and pass rates will need to increase. However, this proposal does reduce overcrowding and assures that both transit and school buses are being used efficiently in the short run. It also provides the foundation for any future growth by assuring that available transportation dollars, whether dedicated to transit or school bus purposes, are used in the most efficient way possible. RECOMMENDATION City Council approve Joint Powers Agreement in concept; direct City Manager to work with the William S. Hart Unified High School District to coordinate fares and bus service. for the transportation of students between home and school. SACCAGENDMAGENDCMMAOU MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA AND THE WILLIAM S. HART UNIFIED HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT This Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is made and entered into by and between the City of Santa Clarita (City) and the William S. Hart Unified High School District (District) for for coordination of fares and bus services relating to the transporting of students between home and school. WHEREAS, the City and the District both provide transportation services used by high school and junior high students traveling to and from school; and WHEREAS, the City is a general transportation provider that is prohibited by law from providing exclusive school bus service; and WHEREAS, both the City and the District have limited funds to provide -transportation services, limiting the ability to increase capacity; and WHEREAS, increasing student enrollment and more students taking advantage of open enrollment privileges will increase the demand for transportation services between home and school; and WHEREAS, the City and the District share the following goals; to prevent overcrowding on both City and District buses, to balance loads on buses in order to make the best use of City and District resources, to allow the City. to carry out its broader mission of providing public transportation services to the entire population, and to prevent the need for the District to deploy any additional buses for general home to school transportation; NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereby agree as follows: 1. This MOU shall be effective April 1, 1997 and expire on March 31, 2000. However there will be no change to fares/rates of service or bus routes and schedules prior to the end of the 1996/97 academic year, and the fares/rates of service and bus routes and schedules in effect on March 31, 2000 will remain in effect until the end of the 1999/00 academic year. 2. The Santa Clarita Transit student monthly pass will become the sole fare medium on District school buses. Students must acquire a pass in advance of using District buses. District bus drivers will only allow students to ride who have a valid student monthly pass. For the 1997/98 academic year the price of. the pass will be $15 per month. In each succeeding year the price of the pass will be mutually agreed upon by both the City and the District, subject to a public hearing and approval by the City Council. SATRANSMC0NTRACT\RART97.M0U 3. The City will reimburse the District at a rate of $.42 per student carried or $170,000 per year whichever is greater. 4. The District will acquire at face.value student monthly passes to distribute for free or at a discount to students who meet income requirements entitling them to free or reduced fare transportation. 5. The City arid the District will develop a pass that can be used in conjunction with student body photo identification. 6. The City and the District will reserve the right to refuse transportation for a specified period of time to any student who has been disruptive or poses a threat to other students/passengers. While the City can only deny access to students who have been or are likely to be disruptive on a City bus, the District may deny access to school buses for other purposes as well. 7. Initially the District will retain existing walking distance requirements to determine which students are entitled to ride school buses. This will be. enforced by locating school bus stops only in areas beyond the minimum walking distances. The District may change these boundaries upon consultation with the City. The District also reserves the right to establish stops closer to school than the walking distance, if sufficient capacity exists on the affected school buses or unique circumstances exist. These situations will be discussed with the City as part of the provision under #8 below. 8. The City and the District will meet each spring to jointly plan local transit and school bus schedules and routes during the following academic year. The service plan developed will strive to minimize overcrowding and balance loads among all City and District buses. 9. The City and the District will meet on a daily basis beginning the first day of the academic year to identify and correct any unanticipated problems relating to capacity or schedule adherence. These meetings will continue until all problems have been identified and a resolution has been reached. As a result of the conditions of this MOU, the City assures the District that additional school buses will not have to be deployed to resolve any unanticipated problems. This assurance does not apply in cases where all or part of a school becomes uninhabitable, or any other event that radically alters school attendance. 10. The City and the District will also meet on an as needed basis whenever either party needs to change service that could affect the other parties operation or impact bus trips used by students traveling to or from -school. 11. The District will immediately notify the City of any proposed change in attendance boundaries and bell times and determine the impact such changes will have on both City and District operated transportation used by students traveling between home and school. SATRANSIMONTRAMHART97NOU 12. The City and the District will meet no later than April 15 of each year of this MOU to discuss Summer School locations and bell times, so that the City can plan for the transportation needs of Summer School students. 13. The City and the District will work together in preparing public information about transportation services. The District will make available to the City all normal communication channels to supply information to households with students attending or anticipating to attend District schools. 14. The City will assure.an adequate supply of monthly passes will be available to meet demand. 15. The District will provide the City with the academic calender, including the first day of school, last day of school and all district wide minimum days or holidays no later than May 31 preceding each academic year. The District will supply the City with a calendar of any school specific minimum days and school holidays no later than one week prior to the start of the academic year. All changes from the above two calendars will be supplied by the District directly to the City's contractor for transit services as soon as the change is known. 16. The City and the District will mutually agree to any reporting requirements of this MOU. CITY OF SANTA CLARITA City Manager ATTEST: City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: City Attorney S:M,ANS1T\C0NTRAMHART97.M0U WILLIAM S. HART UNIFIED HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT Superintendent