School District and SEPTA Agree on Terms to Keep TransPass Program

SEPTA and the School District of Philadelphia have "established a basic framework" that would allow the popular TransPass program to remain in effect next school year, according to a news release.

Under a potential agreement, the district wouldn't have to pay for the TransPasses used during the 2011-12 school year until September 2012. SEPTA has agreed to let the school district wait until then to pay for them.

The district had originally planned to cut the program, which pays for students to ride public transportation to various schools around the city. That move would have saved the district $50 million next school year.

Because the district wouldn't have to pay for the district's TransPasses until next school year, though, the TransPasses wouldn't be part of next year's budget.

The agreement isn't yet in place, but the news release said both sides are working on finalizing its details. It would allow close to 60,000 students to keep their TransPasses.

Any arrangement is subject to approval by SEPTA's board and by the School Reform Commission.

A final agreement could be reached in the next few weeks, according to Superintendent Arlene Ackerman, who spoke at a news conference this afternoon.

Deputy Superintendent Leroy Nunery also said at the news conference that SEPTA officials have offered to look into the district's transportation services by contributing its "operational expertise" to potentially helping those services run better.

Ackerman announced at the news conference that for next year.