Students who ride the bus in the Russellville City School System will soon be riding on buses the school system owns.

Superintendent Rex Mayfield said the system was on schedule to begin transporting its own students by Oct. 1.

Historically, the Franklin County Board of Education has shouldered the responsibility for the transportation system of both the county and the city schools, but last October officials reached an agreement to finally have separate transportation systems.

Mayfield said when the State Department of Education informed school officials they would have to stop using the county school system’s transportation, they were given one of two options: provide their own transportation or stop providing transportation altogether, since city school systems have that option.

But Mayfield said he didn’t feel like taking away buses from the students who depend on them would be the right thing to do.

“City schools do have the option to just not provide their students with transportation, but we have 900 students who rides the bus to school every day and I know firsthand how important that is,” Mayfield said.

“When I was going to school, I lived at the very last house on the route and I would have had no other way to get to school had it not been for buses. I wouldn’t want to take away that same opportunity for our students today.”

Busing its own students will of course be an extra expense for the city school system, but its one Mayfield said was necessary, especially when considering the alternative.

“If we chose not to bus the students, we could feasibly have 900 students who could decide to go somewhere else, which could mean a loss of 50 or more teachers,” Mayfield said. “This was just the best decision for everyone.”

As of Oct. 1, FCS will transfer the titles of 16 buses to RCS. These buses will include twelve 2009 model buses and four 1999 model buses, and RCS will assume the unpaid indebtedness on the 2009 buses.

RCS is also in the process of having their own transportation building built to house the buses on the corner of Clay Avenue and Rube Currington Drive behind Russellville Elementary School.

Funding for the $372,000 building was provided through existing capital funds.

“This really won’t have much of an affect on the students because we will employ the same bus drivers for the same buses as of Oct. 1,” Mayfield said. “The kids will ride the same bus they always have and have the same bus driver. The only difference will be that the bus drivers are employed by Russellville City instead of Franklin County and the buses will be our responsibility.”