|
Lexington Home Page
|
Help
|
About
|
Browse
Search
2012-02-29-AC-min
Breadcrumb Navigation:
TownOfLexington-Public
>
WEB PUBLISHED-PUBLIC DOCUMENTS
>
MINUTES-REPORTS-COMMITTEES ARCHIVE
>
Appropriation Committee-AC
>
Minutes
>
2010-2019
>
2012
>
2012-02-29-AC-min
Metadata
Thumbnails
Annotations
Entry Properties
Last modified
3/2/2022 3:28:40 PM
Creation date
11/7/2012 1:09:22 PM
Metadata
Fields
Template:
Archives
Year
2012
Department
Town Clerk
Keywords or Subject
Minutes - AC - Appropriation Committee
There are no annotations on this page.
Document management portal powered by Laserfiche WebLink 9 © 1998-2015
Laserfiche.
All rights reserved.
/
5
PDF
Print
Pages to print
Enter page numbers and/or page ranges separated by commas. For example, 1,3,5-12.
After downloading, print the document using a PDF reader (e.g. Adobe Reader).
View images
View plain text
February 29. 2012 <br />Minutes <br />Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee Meeting <br />February 29, 2012 <br />Time and Location: Room G15, Town Office Building, 7:30 p.m. <br />Members Present: Glenn Parker, Chair; John Bartenstein, Vice Chair and Secretary; Joe Pato, <br />Vice Chair; Robert Cohen; Alan Levine; Eric Michelson; Jonina Schonfeld; Rob Addelson (non- <br />voting, ex officio) <br />Notpresent: Mollie Garberg; Richard Neumeier <br />Others in attendance: Judy Crocker, Lexington resident; Mary Ellen Dunn, Assistant <br />Superintendent for Finance and Business; Pat Goddard, Director of Public Facilities; Andy <br />Friedlich, Town Meeting Member <br />The meeting was called to order at 7:32 p.m. <br />1. Announcements. Mr. Parker reported that he had interviewed two candidates for the <br />minute -taker position. <br />2. Article 17: School Bus Transportation Subsidy (Citizen Article). Ms. Crocker was in <br />attendance, at the Committee's request, to provide information on Article 17. She was <br />accompanied by Ms. Dunn, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Business for the Lexington <br />Public Schools. Article 17 asks the Town to appropriate an as yet unknown amount of funds to <br />reduce or offset fees charged for use of the school bus transportation system. <br />Ms. Crocker explained that Article 17's objective is to increase bus ridership while reducing the <br />large number of private automobiles making trips to the schools at the beginning and end of each <br />school day. The proponents contend that increasing ridership will not only improve traffic <br />congestion at the schools but also address problems of road wear, pedestrian safety, and <br />pollution. Ms. Crocker made a PowerPoint presentation and provided a number of handouts to <br />the Committee. <br />Ms. Crocker reported that, presently, bus fees in Lexington are the highest in the metropolitan <br />area at $550 per student with a $1,600 family cap. Parent survey results indicate that cost is the <br />primary reason more students do not use the bus. The percentage of students using school bus <br />transportation has decreased in the last decade to 31 %, and 50% of students now drive or are <br />driven to school. The number of students seeking financial assistance with school bus fees has <br />increased substantially, from 7 in school year 2007 -08 to 185 in school year 2011 -12. <br />School bus transportation costs are currently funded through a combination of parent fees and <br />school department operating funds. If Article 17 is approved, the parent fee would be lowered <br />and a town subsidy would be added to the mix. If transportation costs for the year exceeded the <br />sum of the School Department funds, parent fees and the Town subsidy, the School Department <br />
The URL can be used to link to this page
Your browser does not support the video tag.