Bus service for five Marin school districts is set to continue through the 2027-28 school year with funding from county sales tax revenue.

Marin Transit, which manages the Measure AA fund for the county’s yellow school bus programs, has approved a three-year funding cycle amounting to about $1.1 million annually.

The board voted on April 7 to approve nearly $1.11 million to be split across school bus programs at the Reed Union, Ross Valley, San Rafael, Miller Creek and Sausalito Marin City school districts for the 2025-26 school year.

The vote also commits funding for the 2026-27 school year, projected to be nearly $1.12 million, and the 2027-28 school year, estimated at about $1.13 million. Those amounts will be evaluated and confirmed ahead of each school year.

“The certainty of knowing what you’re going to be getting the next three years is really important, rather than trying to change it up every year,” said Nancy Whelan, general manager of Marin Transit.

“We’ve really tried to just say, you have some stability here, some certainty.”

Marin school bus programs for kindergarten through eighth grade students have been receiving Measure AA revenue since 2019.Marin Transit has a set criteria for programs to be eligible, including a requirement that the school district offers 50% discounted bus passes to qualifying income-eligible families.

The district also must have a bus program or commit to starting one.

Bus programs must have a funding match of at least 20%, among other criteria.

The Measure AA funds are based on a formula that takes into account the price of one-way bus passes, the program size and pass sales, said Sandra Romero, an analyst at Marin Transit.

For this funding cycle, the program subsidy is increasing from 77% to 95% “to better match the spenddown of the annual Measure AA funds that we have for each school year,” Romero said.

Accordingly, the Reed Union district is set to receive $309,833 in Measure AA funds for the next school year; Ross Valley will get $340,348; San Rafael will get $381,866; Miller Creek will get $47,962; and Sausalito Marin City will get $39,742.

Romero said the Larkspur-Corte Madera School District and Novato Unified School District have also expressed interest in launching school bus programs.

Marin County Supervisor Dennis Rodoni, a Marin Transit board member, asked: “Is there a place in the program or budget that we would have available to work with them to help develop their program?”

Romero said Marin Transit has a Measure AA “carry-forward” fund that would be made available to support the districts if they choose to join and can meet the eligibility criteria.

“We would also help them find other funding as well,” Whelan added.

Supervisor Eric Lucan, the Marin Transit board president, supported the allocations and the funding mechanism.

“I’m glad to know there is some flexibility available should others be interested,” Lucan said.

Supervisor Stephanie Moulton-Peters, a board member, said the school bus programs grew in each district with different contracts and funding abilities.

“I know Mill Valley lost their program,” said Moulton-Peters, who represents the county on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Association of Bay Area Governments.

She said the regional organizations just completed Plan Bay Area 2050, and part of the document includes a focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“We’ve brought up many times that running yellow school buses could be a strategy for this, and we haven’t got a whole lot of traction at the state Legislature, though we’ve tried,” Moulton-Peters said.

She said state funding could be available to help subsidize school bus programs.

“I think it’s worth taking another look,” she said. “We’re doing the best we can, and it’s not perfect, but it’s better than no school buses at all.”