Controller says District could be losing money in TransPass program

by thenotebook on Sep 06 2012

City Controller Alan Butkovitz says that an audit found lax monitoring of student TransPasses during the last school year that could end up costing the District millions.

Butkovitz based the findings on four schools, saying his auditors found that 12 percent of the passes were not properly recorded and could not be accounted for.

By arrangement with SEPTA, the District distributes free weekly TransPasses to students so that they can travel to and from school. To fund the program last year during its budget crisis, the District borrowed $37 million from SEPTA.

This year, it must pay that money back -- in addition to finding the money to fund the program again.

Comments (5)

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 09/06/2012 - 21:07.

Perhaps the $ went to fund Ackerman's "don't let the door hit you in the ass" payout.

Submitted by annonymous (not verified) on Thu, 09/06/2012 - 22:27.

It is critical that this be addressed. Many, many families depend on the transpass to get students to school. Without the transpass, truancy will increase. Students will have fewer school options - which is the mantra of the SRC / Nowak/ William Penn Foundation/ etc. $37 million seems like a lot for transpasses - but there needs to be a way to provide students with a means to get to school. Remember, the transpass goes to all Philly students who live more than 1.5 miles from school - parochial, charter, SDP, private, etc.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 09/09/2012 - 09:05.

What kind of discount does the district get for student transpass?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 09/10/2012 - 20:15.

I'm sorry, but 15 years ago we had to pay for school tokens and we did. This idea that people won't go to school without a transpass is BULLSH!zzle. I'm also sure that those who don't make it already don't show up.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 09/10/2012 - 21:17.

Charter school students are guaranteed transportation 1-12. School district students only get transportation 1 - 6th grades. This is state law. The law needs to be equitable if students may lose transportation. What suburban district doesn't provide transportation?

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