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February 29. 2012 would be responsible for funding the balance. If transportation costs were less, the full amount of the subsidy would not be spent. The expectation is that any subsidy appropriated would be an annual subsidy, but that the subsidy would not be part of the school department budget. Ms. Crocker was not able at this point to state the amount of funds proponents will request under Article 17 or an estimate of what could be the best -case scenario in terms of increasing bus ridership. The Committee's discussion focused on a number of additional issues including present costs and ridership and how Lexington compares to other communities. Ms. Dunn reported that although Lexington's per student bus fee is the highest in the area, and most communities are "under $400," some "are creeping up toward" the $550 charged by Lexington. Ms. Dunn also reported that, at present, Lexington is paying the highest per day bus cost in the area. The annual cost per rider is $688 so in effect the Lexington school department budget is contributing a subsidy of $138 per rider to keep the annual fee at $550. The renewal of the school bus contract is presently out to bid. Ms. Dunn stated that in FY12, the school budget is contributing $174,000 to school bus costs. By state law, the School Department must provide K -6 students who live more than 2 miles from school with free transportation. The School Department also provides subsidies to students based on financial need. Currently 400 students in grades K -6 are eligible for free busing, but Ms. Dunn was not certain what proportion of those children actually take the bus. A total of 1,265 students currently take the bus. Other means of reducing the number of cars making trips to school were discussed. Mr. Bartenstein asked if it might be possible to charge a fee to parents who drive to school. There was also some discussion about the possibility of increasing the fees charged to students who park at the High School parking lot as these fees have not been raised in a number of years. It was noted that many students park on the street for free. The Committee decided to defer voting on this article until more information is available. 3. Article 16: Department of Public Facilities FY 13 Capital Requests. Mr. Goddard made a presentation on the Department of Public Facilities' FYI capital requests, which were summarized in a spreadsheet entitled "FY 2013 Recommended Capital Budget." Estabrook School Construction — Mr. Goddard reported the Town would be meeting with the Massachusetts School Building Authority ( "MSBA ") on March 1, at which meeting the MSBA may tell the Town what reimbursement rate it will receive. The Town submitted a schematic budget of $40.8 million, which includes $1.5 million already appropriated for feasibility studies. The Town estimates the overall reimbursement will be approximately 32% of the total budget, or approximately $13 million. Mr. Goddard noted that a portion of the site costs would be excluded from reimbursement under the MSBA's method for calculating reimbursement. Mr. Levine asked why the budget of $40.8 million is so much higher than that for the Fiske School (completed in 2007) and the Harrington School (completed in 2005). Mr. Goddard listed 4