BOISE (AP) — The Legislature's chief budget writers are accusing the capital city's school district of luring students with hamburgers to ride the bus on the two days that determine transportation aid from the state.
But Boise school administrators contend they are only trying to get eligible children on the bus by touting the advantages of riding.
District leaders hope to get more riders for head counts today and Jan. 7. They want to prevent an expected $1 million drop in state support because of changes the Legislature made last winter.
Instead of paying 85 percent of the school districts' busing costs with no limit on total payments, the state will now pay 85 percent of the cost as long as it is within 110 percent of the statewide average.
The Boise district said it would need to raise its bus ridership from about 6,200 a day to almost 8,100 to keep from losing money under the formula.
A memo from chairmen of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee calls on the State Board of Education to keep the Boise School District from taking advantage of the system. It said Boise's campaign to drum up bus ridership "is a cynical and fraudulent attempt to 'game the system' " that will cost other schools across the state.