One of the biggest changes to the new school year is the ZPass system that has been added to all bus transportation throughout the district. Students can either purchase a twenty-five dollar pass that will cover fifty bus rides or purchase a pass for one hundred and fifty dollars that covers a year.

When deciding whether or not to charge for transportation, a public committee was formed and surveys were sent out to parents in the district. More than half of the parents that filled out the survey wanted the ZPasses.

Many other districts are now charging for transportation. Douglas County is in its second year of charging for buses. Other districts charging include Falcon, Air Academy and Woodland Park.

In recent years, the district has had to make cuts in every department. About 200,000 dollars was cut from transportation, forcing them to find the money another way.

The money that was cut from the transportation budget was then given back to the teachers. This money allowed about four teachers to keep their jobs.

Robin Mossman is the former transportation supervisor; she was head of making the decision to charge for transportation.

According to Mossman the purpose of the ZPass is to track students for safety and to know who has paid the fifty cents for a bus ride.

If students are on the reduced lunch system, they automatically qualify to have a pre-paid ZPass.

“For the most part the ZPass has been a very positive thing. There have been very few negative phone calls or emails,” Massman said.

Massman also added that the number of students riding the bus has increased.

Senior Alex Curnell wouldn’t necessary agree with the positive views of the transportation department.

When first hearing about the ZPasses, Curnell thought it was a bit ridiculous. After riding the bus and seeing how the system works, Curnell said he still feels that way.

“I feel like it’s kind of a disappointment in the district. The bus has always been free since I was in elementary school, and now the district is losing so much money they have to charge,” Curnell said.

The ZPasses are a big change for the district, one that has many different varying opinions. When the transportation department lost almost ten percent of their funding, they had to find the money elsewhere.

When asked if the ZPasses are a permanent fixture to the district, the current transportation supervisor Tammy Phips said, “It’s hard to imagine getting rid of them.”

Even though the decision has been controversial, the ZPasses are here to stay.