WASHINGTON 鈥� All public school students in D.C. could soon have free rides to class, following at times heart-wrenching testimony before the D.C. Council this week.
鈥淚f you are paying $17.50 for transportation, then you don鈥檛 have anything left for small things 鈥� like milk or bread,鈥� Angela Wilkinson, of Southeast, told the D.C. Council Finance Committee on Wednesday.
Wilkinson, an adult student at Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School, joined other adult students and school administrators to emphasize how free transportation could have a big impact.
鈥淎dult learners need assistance with transportation to be a success. The students that are unable to afford their transportation are unable to attend school,鈥� Wilkinson said. 鈥淎dult learners are trying to make a decision to go back to school to be proud of themselves and let their kids and grandkids know 鈥楧on鈥檛 give up; it is never too late to be responsible鈥�.鈥�
Without the assistance that D.C. public school students under age 21 get, Wilkinson said she is forced into tough choices.
鈥淚magine when your child鈥檚 class goes on a trip to the Baltimore Aquarium, and you鈥檙e not able to let your child go. It hurts so bad; it makes you feel just depressed and upset,鈥� she said.
D.C. Councilmember Robert White said that story broke his heart.
鈥淎dult learners are in a situation where they鈥檙e trying to improve their lives; they鈥檙e trying to move to the next step, and it鈥檚 so heartbreaking when the thing between them and their dream is transportation money,鈥� he said.
A majority of the D.C. Council has signed onto a bill introduced in February that would provide the $2 million needed to expand the D.C. Kids Ride Free Program to cover adult public or alternative school students. Funding for the measure has not yet been identified.
鈥淚f we can find the money, we鈥檒l do it,鈥� Councilmember Jack Evans told the students.
According to the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, about 60,000 District residents do not have a high school diploma or equivalent, but about 70 percent of jobs require one.
鈥淟ow literacy and low educational attainment are root causes of poverty, unemployment, poor health and homelessness,鈥� said DCFPI senior analyst Ilana Boivie.
Christopher Crump, of Southeast, said that without transportation assistance he will not be able to complete his GED.
鈥淚f we could ride to school for free, we could get our GEDs and further our education. Right now, I鈥檓 unemployed and this would definitely help,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 want to get my GED because I want my grandchildren to see that their grandfather got his education and got his GED. It would show that education鈥檚 the most important thing in life to have. Without it, you can鈥檛 get anywhere. It would show that I took pride in myself to make it,鈥� Crump said.
Advocates told the council that expanding the free ride program would ensure more students show up to class, which would mean the District gets the most from its investment in the schools in the first place. The issue takes on added importance now, with Metro fares scheduled to jump 25 cents each way this summer for buses and off-hour rail trips, and 10 cents each way for peak-hour rail trips.
鈥淲e have to get in this country the mindset that public transportation is as important as schools, as police. It is not a luxury; it鈥檚 a necessity, particularly for people who don鈥檛 have a lot of money,鈥� said Evans, who rarely rides public transit and instead drives his Chrysler convertible around town.
Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld confirmed the transit agency can implement the program if D.C. finds the money.
鈥淔rom a financial perspective, it gives us the stability of dollars that we know are coming in, so that鈥檚 a good thing. It also 鈥� it鈥檚 what we鈥檙e here for, is to move people 鈥� but there is a financial element to it that needs to be solved,鈥� Wiedefeld said.
Under the existing Kids Ride Free program, the District reimburses Metro for an that are not recorded when students do not tap their fare cards before boarding a bus or train or when exiting the rail system.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had some issues with the regular students program that we worked through with the District, so I think that鈥檚 going fairly well,鈥� Wiedefeld said. 鈥淭here are some other things that we want to work on that 鈥� particularly we are moving to a tap-in/tap-out for the entire system, so whoever uses the system, we want them to tap in and tap out. So that is something we鈥檙e working with the school district on. But besides that, it is a good program, and the adult one, I think, would be equally as good.鈥�
Wilkinson agreed, explaining that she went back to school like many of her classmates have 鈥� in an effort to be a better, proud mom or dad.
鈥淓ducation is important no matter how long it has been since you were out of school. Waking up knowing you have help to support your transportation in the morning as you start the kids on their way would be a blessing. It would make grandson, grandma and my oldest son, all of us, very happy that we can attend school and the whole house will be on the honor roll,鈥� she said.
