Mayor Steinberg is kicking kids to curb by under-funding Regional Transit program | Opinion

It is a painfully documented reality that a lack of transportation options can lead to students missing school. Despite this known fact, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and City Manager Howard Chan are still kicking kids to the curb.

It’s only been a few years since the City of Sacramento won acclaim for funding the RydeFreeRT program that provides free use of regional public transportation for all Sacramento-area students — one of the first of its kind in the nation.

Now that those headlines have faded from memory, Steinberg and city officials are shifting this program into reverse by proposing cuts to city funds for RydeFreeRT. Now, Steinberg is looking to shift half of the costs for the program to local school districts — and he’s doing this all while claiming to support Sacramento’s students and families.

The mayor can’t have it both ways.

This added financial burden would be placed on local school districts at a time when the state budget — the primary source of funding for California’s schools — faces a massive deficit. The mayor is now proposing that $250,000 for RydeFreeRT be covered by the Sacramento City Unified School District and an additional $250,000 be covered by the Natomas, Twin Rivers and the Elk Grove Unified school districts.

According to Darryl White, chair of Sacramento Unified’s Black Parallel School Board, RydeFreeRT has been instrumental in shaping transportation equity in Sacramento.

“If the city were to cut this program, the consequences for students could be profound,” White said.

In 2023, RydeFreeRT student ridership reached 3.4 million, accounting for a quarter of all Sacramento Regional Transit rides on bus and light rail (up from 8% pre-pandemic). According to Sac City Unified officials, the percentage is even higher at some Sacramento City campuses, where more than one in three students rely on public transit.

Behind Steinberg’s retreat on his commitment to students is the fiscal mismanagement that is driving the need for the city to cut costs. Despite record revenue coming into city coffers, Steinberg’s inability to say no to raises for Chan, who is already the highest paid city manager in the state, and other staff have pushed the city to the fiscal brink.

While it may be true that Steinberg and Sacramento City Council members have faced challenges closing the city’s $66 million shortfall, the simple fact that they are willing to take an ax to this program is providing disturbing insight into city leaders’ priorities.

Budgets are statements of our shared community values. The $1-million annual cost of the RydeFreeRT program (in an overall city budget of $1.6 billion) is an investment in our students and the future, providing the resources to help our students make it to school safely and combat the chronic absenteeism we’ve seen skyrocket at schools since the pandemic.

Longtime former Sacramento City Councilmember Jay Schenirer said continuing to fund RydeFreeRT is an investment in a sustainable, equitable and progressive Sacramento. We agree.

Steinberg and other city leaders need to embrace these ideals and show our students that they are seen, valued and supported during good budget times and bad. Our school districts shouldn’t be forced to cut resources from our classrooms to fix the city’s budget shortfalls.

In 2016, when he was first running for election, Steinberg repeatedly promised that he wanted to be the “Education Mayor.” Now he should stand up for students by allocating the needed funds for the RydeFreeRT program.