Middle school students in Duluth Public Schools can now access public transportation at no cost through the Public Transit Program in partnership with the Duluth Transit Authority.

The program, which previously served only district staff and high school students attending East, Denfeld and the Alternative Learning Center, was recently expanded to include middle school students.

Students simply need to show their school ID to take advantage of the initiative, which aims to eliminate attendance issues.

"When kids are in schools, their grades are better, and their graduation rates are better," said Duluth Public School Board Chair Kelly Durick Eder. "Everything's better for kids when we can get them into school — so expanding it to middle schoolers just seemed like the next natural step."

Since its official launch in January 2025, the program has helped fill the gap in transportation needs for students and staff.

"If you're a high schooler or middle schooler and you live within a mile of the school, you have to find your own way to school — whether that's through the bus or through walking or through your parents dropping you off or driving yourself," said Duluth Public Schools Communication Officer Adele Wellens. "So this was a way to help fill in that gap that our transportation doesn't cover."

Beyond the attendance benefits, the program also may serve as an introduction to public transportation.

"Maybe that's something that they carry with them through their adulthood," Durick Eder said. "They now understand that the bus is a safe place for them. They understand how to utilize the bus, and they can maybe be citizens later on that are going to utilize the DTA to get to their jobs or to get to their house."

As part of the agreement, the district will reimburse the DTA at a rate of $1.20 per ride on its fixed-route service and $2.40 per ride on its STRIDE Paratransit (service for passengers with disabilities), up to a maximum of $200,000 for each fiscal year.

Funding for the program has come from a one-time $362,000 tax rebate since its launch in June 2024. With budget cuts looming, however, the program is in jeopardy of being eliminated after this academic year.

"Depending on how the referendum goes, we're going to have some other significant cuts coming up in the future, and so this would be a program that we would have to go back and look at to see whether or not it would be in the best interest to continue," Durick Eder said.

Durick Eder expressed hope that the program continues beyond this coming school year, but recognized the challenges facing the district that could put the program in jeopardy.

"When it comes to having to make these hard financial decisions, is it better to be using this money for teachers, for social workers, for mental health support, for the thousands of other needs that kids have when you have a district of this size," Durick Eder asked. "So 100%, it is in jeopardy."

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