Last week, SEPTA offered to allow the district to delay paying for TransPasses purchased next school year until September 2012. That's great news for the mainly 60,000 high-school students who take public transportation to school, but not for the roughly 45,000 elementary-school students who primarily ride yellow buses to and from school.
Without busing, these students will have to either take the subway, walk, or both, putting them in potential danger, parents say.
Education and political observers say that by choosing to cut such an essential service - which will strain families financially and put younger children at risk - district officials have shown just how far they're willing to go to plug a $629 million hole in next year's $2.7 billion budget.
"It's going to be a huge problem," said Margay, who lives in Fairmount but enrolled her children at St. Peter's School, at 3rd and Lombard streets in South Philadelphia.
Officials estimate saving $26.5 million by eliminating school-bus services, including 1,400 driving positions and contracts with 10 outside companies, said a district spokesman.
Exempt from the cuts are charter-school students, those with disabilities who are legally required to be bused to school, and others whose extenuating circumstances require service, such as homeless students, said spokesman Fernando Gallard.
Those who would be affected are the more than 25,000 district, private and parochial students, many of whom travel outside of their neighborhoods to go to school, said Gerald Wright, of the advocacy group Parents United for Public Education.
Aside from safety issues, Wright said, attendance and truancy will also be affected.
"I was surprised that transportation was ever a thing to cut," he said. "It's counterproductive."
