Columbia officials testify in favor of city, school bus deal

(Missourinet) Some Missouri cities have buses with plenty of open seats. Some school districts need a cheap way to get older students to class.

State Rep. Chuck Basye is pushing a bill allowing school districts to contract with cities to transport high schoolers. The Columbia City Council and Columbia Public Schools Board of Education have endorsed the idea.

“For students who don’t have cars to be able to access those services, this is going to be a really good benefit to them,” Councilman Michael Trapp said while testifying at the Capitol in Jefferson City on Tuesday.

“We already can share funds, but for some reason we can’t share funds when it comes to busing,” CPS board member Jonathan Sessions said during his testimony.

Opponents say they worry city buses don’t have the same safety measures as school buses.