The Urban Tour Group Board approved the following policy for providing Transportation Assistance to qualifying schools on September 18, 2014.
- Maintain the transportation assistance line item in the UTG budget at $4,500.
- When 35% or more of the enrolled students qualify for subsidized meals, the Reservationist will send a copy of the email confirming the teacher’s tour reservation and qualifying status. A copy of the email will also be sent to the Corresponding Secretary.
- The Corresponding Secretary will send an email to each qualifying teacher with the Request for Transportation Assistance Application attached. The email should be addressed to each teacher and include the following: the school name, number of classrooms on tours, name of the tour(s), and the date(s) of tours, A copy of the email will also be sent to the Treasurer.
- The Application should read, “Schools in which 35% or more of the student body qualify for subsidized meals may request funding up to $200 for 1-2 classrooms per year. Additional funding toward transportation costs may be available to schools requesting tours for 3-6 classrooms per school year.”
- Upon receipt of a signed Transportation Assistance Application, the Treasurer will verify the percentage of students receiving subsidized meals as listed on the ODE website. Checks for transportation assistance will be written and sent to the designated school/district representative according to the following formula:
- $200 for schools that request funding for 1-2 classrooms per school year;
- An additional $100 per classroom toward transportation costs may be paid for up to 6 classrooms, in the same school year, depending on the scheduling dates;
- Schools that schedule 2 more classrooms (total of 4 classes from the same school) will receive an additional $200; and
- Schools that schedule a total of 5 classrooms on 3 separate school days will be allotted $500 rather than $600 and schools scheduling a total of 3 classrooms on 2 separate school days will be allotted $300 rather than $400.
- The Corresponding Secretary and Treasurer should review the list of funded schools on the bottom of each treasurer report and report at least twice yearly at UTG Board Meetings regarding schools that did or did not submit assistance requests. Periodic emails should be sent to teachers that have not submitted a Transportation Assistance Application within a month of the initial email requesting information about their intent/reason for not requesting funding.
- The Treasurer should include the name of each school, number of classrooms, and amount of funding on each monthly treasurer’s report.