BUSES GET THEIR FILL OF KIDS CITY TRANSIT PICKS UP WHERE SCHOOL BUDGETS LEAVE OFF.

Byline: Eugene Tong  Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Jason Shender stood outside with a crowd of seventh- and eighth-graders Friday, waiting to go home on one of three city buses serving the just-opened Rio Norte Junior High in Valencia.

About 2:20 p.m., the familiar pink-and-white transports pulled into the school parking lot. Shender and more than 100 screaming, backpack-clad children just like him mobbed the vehicles as the double doors hissed open.

``They could be more efficient in getting in on time,'' said Shender, 12. ``But it's OK. It's fun. It's like a party.''

It's a scene that is increasingly commonplace at junior high and high school campuses across the valley as Santa Clarita Transit takes over routes that were once the domain of traditional yellow school buses. But some metro buses are packed, especially at Rio Norte.

In May, the William S. Hart Union High School District board voted to roll back school bus services to contain rising costs.

Busing was expected to cost close to $1 million this year - partly due to the state's decision to postpone a $650,000 transportation payment amid the fiscal crisis.

``As the district budget becomes tighter and tighter, transportation is a place that is always looked at as a place to keep the cuts away from the classroom,'' Hart transportation director Gary Smith said.

Also, as new campuses open closer to residences over the next four years, Smith expects demand for busing to decrease.

``(But) the schools will never be able to pull ... out of transportation, as we are required by law to transport special education students,'' he said.

Reductions enacted this school year include the elimination of a little- used Sand Canyon route, and no school buses will be provided for future junior high schools.

Also enacted was a 5 percent fee hike - from $125 per semester per student to $131.25.

Picking up the slack at new schools such as Rio Norte and Rancho Pico Junior High - expected to open next fall - is Santa Clarita Transit.

The city service, which already runs dedicated lines between Hart district campuses to their more far-flung neighborhoods, carried more than 100,000 students to and from class last year, according to transportation manager Bob Murphy.

It's a logical alternative to the yellow buses since school routes and city routes often overlap, Smith said.

``The city is running the regular main line service, and the youngsters are taking that,'' he said. ``The city bus makes the stops at the exact same stop. ... It's an alternate way or another choice for students to get to school.''

But this scheme has also strained city resources. Each bus costs about $60 per hour to operate, Murphy said, and the school lines alone could cost more than $400,000 a year.

To establish the three lines serving Rio Norte, several underused early morning connections to the Metrolink station were eliminated.

``We are currently stretched to the max with the opening of Rio Norte this year,'' he said. ``But we were able to remove some services that were scheduled to be eliminated in any case.''

Murphy said the same auditing and reallocation of buses would be used to ensure other new schools scheduled to open next year, such as Golden Valley High, will be served, but there is only so much he can do with a limited budget.

``I can already see we're coming to a stopping point in regards to how much we can do,'' Murphy said. ``Meeting all those needs with the continuing growing population of the valley is a challenge.''

Meanwhile, comfort appears to be a casualty as the city attempts to run a streamlined service to stay within budget. The buses departing Rio Norte were standing room only, with more than 50 children packing some lines. Add to that the usual horseplay among teenagers, and the result is unpleasant for some.

Caroline Youlius, 13, tried to bury herself in a novel while rowdy classmates around her pile onto one another for kicks at each tilt of the bus.

``I'm just tired,'' the eighth-grader said. ``This bus is really crowded and everybody always falls on me. ... I like taking the bus so I can talk to my friends. But it's too loud to talk to them.''

Asked if he would rather get a ride from his parents than brave the crowds, Josh Engel, 12, shrugged: ``You're sitting there with your mom. I like to hang out with my friends.''

Eugene Tong, [phone]

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Rio Norte Junior High students pack a Santa Clarita Transit bus after school. Facing budget cuts, the William S. Hart Union High School District board voted in May to roll back school bus services.

(2 -- color) Rio Norte Junior High School students wait in line to board a city bus. The buses leave the school with standing room only.

(3) Students squeeze into place aboard a city bus. Santa Clarita Transit eliminated some routes to accommodate them.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer