Councilwoman Alderete-Gavito had proposed the initiative, calling it an effort to remove barriers to student success.
SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio City Council formally approved a partnership with VIA Metropolitan Transit to provide free bus passes for some local students, an effort spearheaded by District 7 Councilwoman Marina Alderete-Gavito to battle chronic absenteeism.
Alderete-Gavito announced the idea in December. Ahead of council’s unanimous Thursday vote, she said families had been signing up daily to take advantage.
“This funding for my office budget is an initial investment in what we hope to be a permanent program,” she said.
The green light from council allocates up to $150,000 for VIA to provide free bus fare for middle and high school students. It could help more than 5,000 youth in a city in which, according to Alderete-Gavito, nearly one in four students miss at least 10% of the school year.
Several residents and education leaders advocated on behalf of the pilot program during the public comment portion of Thursday’s meeting. Among them was San Antonio ISD Executive Director of Enrollment Diane Fernandez, who said 28% of students in her district are considered chronically absent.
“Affordable transportation is not a convenience,” Fernandez said. “It’s a lifeline for some of our families.”
Dalia Flores Contreras, CEO of City Education Partners – an organization that works to empower local students and set them up for success – said all it takes is one missed day to “start a chain reaction.”
“Reliable transportation can be the different between staying on track or slowly slipping through the cracks,” she said.
According to city documents, Alderete-Gavito’s district – a stretch of northwest San Antonio that includes the Woodlawn Lake neighborhood, the Jxefferson area and the area surrounding Leon Valley – is “disproportionately” impacted by students continuously missing school, with transportation cited as a cause.
VIA currently offers semester passes to students for $28.50, giving them unlimited rides for those few months. The newly approved funding agreement would underwrite those passes for students between 12 and 18 years old, using money in the current year’s General Fund.
The city will determine later whether or not to expand the program. Students can apply for a semester pass here.