Annie Goeller, Daily Journal of Johnson County Staff Writer

Students involved in certain Franklin school clubs might no longer be bused to activities for free, and families might have to pay a transportation fee when their children participate in sports.

School officials have made a few changes to their plan for cutting more than $150,000 from the district's transportation budget, including requiring families to pay a fee for high school and middle school athletics, charging after-school programs for bus service and having sports teams and clubs pay for some trips.

The plan was presented to a group of about 50 parents, students and community members in a public hearing Thursday. Most of the group was there in support of the high school boys volleyball club, which parents said could be forced to end if they have to pay for transportation.

School officials are looking at some changes to the plan, including a cap on how much families would pay in athletics fees, grouping some clubs with athletics so transportation would be funded, and looking at future options, such as having students walk a little farther to bus stops, Superintendent David Clendening said.

The next step is for the school board to vote on the proposals at their meeting March 8.

The school district must reduce its $1.8 million budget for busing students to and from school and activities. The cutback is necessary because transportation costs were over budget the past two years due to higher fuel costs and a drop in property tax collections, and the school district can't ask for more money under state rules, school officials said.

At the same time, the school district plans to lay off as many as 41 employees and cut other costs to address a nearly $3 million shortfall in the general fund, which is funded by the state.

Money for busing comes from property taxes. In the past two years, that money has not been enough to cover the district's transportation costs, and the district has been forced to use money from savings, said Jeff Mercer, district director of business and operations.

The state allows school districts to collect more money for transportation for specific reasons, such as fuel cost increases and higher enrollment.

In the past, the district faced those issues but chose not to ask for a tax increase because residents were paying more in their taxes to pay off the costs of new buildings, such as the high school, Mercer said.

Now, the district can't ask to raise taxes for transportation because none of those specific reasons applies, Mercer said.

"Now that we are in a position where we really and truly need it, we no longer qualify," he said.

School officials created a committee to look at ways to cut the transportation budget.

Most of the plan has not changed from what officials presented to the school board earlier this month, including:

• Making families pay $25 per sport season for high school athletes and $10 per sport season for middle school athletes to cover the cost of taking teams to competitions.

• Charging the Boys and Girls Club and Girls Inc. $45 per student per year for taking children to after-school programs.

• Not paying for transportation for high school clubs that are not part of a class.

Transportation for high school clubs, specifically boys volleyball, was the main topic of community feedback in the hearing.

The plea from students, parents and coaches was for school officials to consider the volleyball club a sport, rather than a club, so it could continue.

That would mean parents would pay a $25 fee to help cover the costs of busing to games; but if the club had to pay for its own transportation, parents could pay as much as $150. They already pay $125 for shoes and uniforms, said Kim Clark, whose son is on the team.

"The increased cost would prevent many of the players the ability to participate on this team," Clark said.

If the club were required to pay for its own transportation, that would cost about $2,000 per season, said Kathleen Sarles, a high school teacher and coach of the volleyball club.

The club already spends all of the money it collects in fundraisers. The club couldn't afford costs for transportation, too, Sarles said.

"Without changes, and if we left the team as a club, volleyball will close after the 2011 season because of money," Sarles said.

The club is the only one that has presented concerns about the cuts to school officials, Clendening said.

Officials are considering changes which could help the club continue, he said.

"We're not here to disband the volleyball program," Clendening said.

One option officials have discussed is counting boys volleyball, along with bowling and dance clubs, as sports teams. That means that the school district would continue to provide transportation to games, but families would be charged the athletics fee if their children are on the team to help cover those costs, he said.

School officials also have been reviewing the proposed athletics fee and are considering capping the amount per family, Mercer said.

A cap amount has not been decided, but officials would like to limit how much each family would pay, especially when many have more than one child involved in sports, he said.

"If you've got four or five kids, that can get pretty pricey," Mercer said.

The district also wants to be sure they don't stop any students from participating in sports because they can't afford to pay the fees, school officials said.

Clendening said the district is considering other ideas for the future, such as consolidating some neighborhood bus stops and requiring children to walk a bit farther to their stop with the hope of reducing some costs, he said.