HARTLAND, Wis. — The Hartland-Lakeside School District is increasing its "pay to ride" busing fee from $110 to $830 per student. The program allows children who live two miles or closer to a school to pay to ride the bus. Legally, the school district does not have to bus any child who lives within two miles unless a hazard prevents them from walking.
Ashley Johnson has a second grader who uses the program. She said the school is too far for her son to walk.
"It is over a mile away and you are crossing railroad tracks," Johnson said. "People are zipping through there. It is just not safe.”
Alex Neffenger has two older boys who walk to another elementary school.
Watch: Hartland parents shocked by district's 650% bussing fee increase
"The school is all the way up this street and then make a quick right," Neffenger said, pointing out where his children’s school is located.
School Board Member Matt Schwab expressed surprise over the lack of an age restriction for walking, considering school starts for students at 4 years old.
"I wouldn’t want my kindergarten walking two miles; that is insane to me. That is insane," Schwab said during the February school board meeting.
For the last two years, the district offered the program at $110 per student, capped at $330 per family. The district took on the additional cost of busing, which was more than $700 per student.
After re-evaluating, the school board looked at four options, ranging from eliminating the program to having parents pay the full fee. The board passed a motion requiring parents to pay the entire $830 fee with no cap for families.
School Board President Chris Adsit explained the board's decision.
"The goal is to make sure the program is there for the kids that really need it and are eligible," Adsit said during the school board meeting.
Neffenger said his boys will keep walking.
"The money has to come from somewhere, and usually that is us in the area," Neffenger said. "That type of increase would take it off the table. That is a lot.”
The district said families on free and reduced lunch can apply for aid. However, Johnson, who has twins turning 4 years old next year, said she cannot afford the new cost.
"That is not something we can realistically afford. There is no cap, and it would be over $1,600," Johnson said. "School is meant to be affordable, and this is not an affordable option for anybody.”
The fee increase takes effect in the new school year.
You can see the school board's entire discussion on the pay-to-ride program here.
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