Paso Robles Joint Unified School District is still struggling to find bus drivers for its students, but thanks to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Mid Central Coast, Paso’s youth will have a ride to after-school services for the next three years.
Registration for the transportation opened on July 21, according to CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Mid Central Coast Maria Fabula.
Fabula said the organization has been providing student services for the district for years. But as the district reduced bus routes within recent years, she said it created a barrier for students to access the Boys and Girls Clubs’ after-school programs that aren’t on school campuses
“We recognize that as really being a challenge for specifically the young people that we serve who are in … a low-income neighborhood,” she said. “We felt compelled to provide that service so we could get those kids back across the freeway and to the clubhouse to provide them a safe space—safe space to learn, to play, to grow, to be mentored, all the things that young people come to Boys and Girls Clubs for.”
On July 8, the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District (PRJUSD) school board and the Boys and Girls Clubs formalized a three-year partnership allowing the club to bus students from all district elementary and middle schools, including Georgia Brown, Winifred Pifer, Kermit King, Virginia Peterson, Glen Speck, and Lewis Flamson Junior High to the Tom Maas Clubhouse for after-school and summer programs starting on Aug. 14.
PRJUSD school board member Nathan Williams told New Times that the district has reduced its bus routes, but not because it doesn’t value transportation.
“It’s kind of a double-edged sword. We have unfortunately reduced our routes, but it’s not because of a lack of funding for it or a lack of desire for those routes, it’s literally cutting down due to a lack of drivers,” he said. “I know that pre-COVID, we had more routes, … but I know that it wasn’t just COVID that caused that change.”
Williams also attributes the lack of drivers to the difficulty of making ends meet.
“People are struggling too, I mean, especially with the cost of living in our area,” he said. “It’s very difficult with inflation, with what the cost of homes is it’s hard for somebody to take on a part-time position, even though it’s worthwhile.”
But Williams said he is excited for the Boys and Girls Clubs to address the need.
According to CEO Fabula, the bus rides will be free for students, but this came as a “sticker shock” for the club. Rides will cost $100,000 for the school year from August to December 2025. By 2026, she hopes the club can start some fundraising.
“We feel that we can do some targeted fundraising and help offset that cost. We are dedicated to providing that service free,” she said. “We’ll explore this over the next year. Is there a fee for the service model that doesn’t create a barrier for our families? We just don’t know the answer to that yet, and we didn’t want to lose those kiddos.”
The agreement between the district and club supports 170 students for after-school busing, and students will be picked up after school on buses contracted through SLO Safe Ride. Fabula said that one day after registration opened, slots were already half filled.
“But our intention is not to limit our size. It’s just to be more strategic in how we operate and make sure that the kiddos have access to the clubhouse,” she said. Δ
This article appears in 55 Fiction 2025.