As a final budget decision approaches before the next school year begins, Carroll ISD may raise the cost of its bus passes in the 2023-24 school year, which could increase revenue for the district.

Assistant Superintendent for Financial Services David Johnson presented the different price options and their potential revenue for the district on June 5.

The background
  • In the 2022-23 school year, CISD families paid $300 for an individual annual bus pass, which covered both semesters for a single student, according to the district’s website. Family plan passes, which would cover a family with more than two children, were $575 per family. Semester passes were $160 per student or $325 per family pass.
  • Early bird discount passes were also available for the 2022-23 school year. If purchased before July 31, 2022, an annual pass was $275 per student or $550 per family. Semester passes were $148 per student or $296 per family pass, the district’s website stated.
At the meeting, Johnson presented the district's historical bus pass rates and their revenue for the past five school years.
The options

Johnson presented three bus pass options for the 2023-24 school year.
  • Option 1: All students pay $300 a year and no family plan is offered. Fall/spring semester passes would be $160 per student. Projected $146,000 revenue increase
  • Option 2: All students pay $315 a year, a 5% increase. The family plan is $630, a 9.6% increase. Fall/spring semester passes would be $168 per student. Projected $73,000 revenue increase
  • Option 3: All students pay $315 a year and no family plan is offered. Fall/spring semester passes would be $168 per student. Projected $196,000 revenue increase
About 300 families would be impacted if the family plan option is taken away, Johnson said. He also said there’s no way to predict if families would opt out of riding the bus if needing to pay for more than two passes.

“Whether it’s child nutrition or transportation, [the revenue formula] assumes that everyone’s going to continue to participate at these increased costs, right?” Trustee Hannah Smith said at the meeting. “Some families will say, ‘Well, this is beyond my budget; I can’t participate in this at all anymore.’ We might not realize the full revenue increase that is projected here if some people drop out of participation altogether.”