NORFOLK, Va. (March 31, 2008) — Norfolk Public Schools and advocates transporting private school students on public school buses will meet in April to discuss what putting private school students on the bus would entail.

School board chairman Barry Bishop has said he supports discussing a proposed study of a plan for the city. But transportation director John Hazelette said he feels questions about liability, behavior management and driver shortages need to be addressed in a forthcoming meeting with the Catholic Diocese of Richmond.

"I don’t know how much interest there is going to be on our part in doing anything that’s going to require additional equipment or positions," Hazelette said. "We’re still struggling mightily on trying to find school bus drivers."

Last year, Gov. Tim Kaine signed a bill that allowed public schools to transport private school students. According to John Langlois, a spokesman for Share the Ride, a group that has advocated the policy for more than a decade, Virginia is the 28th state that allows public schools to offer some form of transportation services to private school students.

So far, no public school districts in Virginia have engaged in transporting private school students, according to state director June Eanes. Langlois said that may change as the study of the potential Norfolk plan yields more information.

It could make sense for public districts to offer these services especially amid rising fuel costs and the consolidation of services amid other budget concerns. Private school students earn additional money for public schools through property taxes and through the state census system that includes private students in the public school funding formula. At the same time, private schools students save public schools money by not taking additional classroom seats and related resources, Langlois said.

But a number of questions about how public private system would work remain. A report by Virginia Beach Public Schools last year found adding services would mean a need for more drivers and more buses. These are resources many districts just don’t have, said Eanes. Plan advocates say building bridges to the private school community may be the key to finding these resources.

"Look at our community as a resource. We may be able to provide you with bus drivers," Langlois said. "When you give, you tend to get."