County Okays Transportation for Private Schools

The McCracken County Fiscal Court passed a yearly resolution on Monday which allows for reimbursement for the county school system when it uses buses to transport students who do not attend public schools.

The resolution is compliant with state statutes that say each county may furnish transportation for students that do not live within walking distance of the school they attend.

The resolution allows the county to apply for reimbursement from the state. In order to qualify for the yearly reimbursement, the county must budget the general fund for the transportation of students. It cannot come from taxes. 

Commissioner Jerry Beyer said, "Essentially I think it's the parochial schools that do not have bus systems, and so the county contracts to use their buses to transport those parochial students to school. And then the transportation cabinet reimburses the county for that, so it's just a pass-through of state money." 

Beyer said there are schools in the area that currently use the program.  He mentioned that St. John's School used the program when it was open.