It’s funny how many ways the federal government can stick its nose into things. And it’s sad how many times the public schools seem to pay the price for that intrusion.

According to the Christian Science Monitor, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has a problem with transit bus routes created to help students get to school. Because federal money subsidizes public transportation, the FTA says, adding school routes to the transit system keeps the cost of transporting students down—and that makes it hard for private bus companies to compete for the right to transport students to school.

Not surprisingly, there’s big money at stake. Officials in Oakland, Calif., told the Monitor that it would cost tens of millions of dollars to hire a private firm to run school buses. It’s just far cheaper to give students a $15 monthly bus pass to take a transit bus.

The Rochester, N.Y., school system says it would cost $8 million to $10 million more to give up mass transit in favor of privatizing school transportation.

Now, I’m all for private enterprise. On the other hand, I thought it was federal policy to encourage the use of public transportation and to spend tax dollars efficiently.

Am I missing something? Other than shifting tax dollars from the classroom to the bank accounts of commercial bus companies, exactly what will we gain from the FTA’s efforts?

Del Stover, Senior Editor