Ferguson-Florissant Transfer Students Get Help with Metro Bus Passes

More than 400 students transferred into the Ferguson-Florissant School District from the unaccredited Normandy and Riverview Gardens school districts this school year. 

This is possible because of the Missouri Supreme Court decision in the Breitenfeld v Clayton case (formerly Turner v Clayton). The ruling upheld an existing statute that gives students in unaccredited school districts the right to transfer to any other accredited school district in the same or adjoining counties.

Transportation is not provided, so parents are responsible for it. This leaves many students relying on public transportation to get to school, which can add up throughout the school year.

In an effort to offset some of that cost on students and their families, Ferguson-Florissant Superintendent Art McCoy is working to raise $22,000 to pay for Metro passes for about 80 students to ride the Metro link and bus systems.

"We believe it's very possible that some of the transportation may be unreliable, or during the winter months, things can occur," McCoy told KSDK. "And so we want to make sure that kids are at school to learn every day.'

The district is seeking support from business and community leaders in the Ferguson-Florissant School District boundary to raise the funds.

On its website, the district expressed the importance of ensuring transfer students continue with positive attendance.

"Without the support, Ferguson-Florissant could see an erosion of the high attendance it has achieved so far this year – a measure that is critical to student achievement and to the district’s scores on state tests which award points based on attendance," a note on the district's website read.