In a state that is home to the country’s fifth-largest city and one of its fastest-growing metropolitan areas, it’s easy to forget that there are communities in Arizona where the morning trip to school can be complicated, stressful and expensive. When even the bus stop – never mind the school campus – is miles away and the only road is washed out or snowed in, getting to school on some days can be almost impossible.

The Holbrook Unified School District knows the struggles of getting students to school in rural Arizona. Holbrook is located 90 miles east of Flagstaff along Interstate 40. Our district, which encompasses a whopping 1,500 square miles, has three elementary schools, one junior high school, and one high school that offer students an excellent education that, upon graduation, prepare students for success in college or career.

It’s an education that families even outside our district seek. Parent surveys often cite the quality of coursework, the enthusiasm of our teachers, and the opportunities for student growth that our schools offer. We’re proud that so many families choose Holbrook Unified, but our location presents its own unique challenges. We welcome students from nine different communities and from 35 Navajo Nation chapters, from which we transport 400 kids. Fifty-nine of our students use open enrollment to attend Holbrook schools, often passing their zoned school along the way to their Holbrook school. We run 22 daily school bus routes, racking up 2,500 miles a day.

But don’t confuse our bus routes with the kind that winds through suburban subdivisions. To reach our students, we run buses along two rural highways, picking up kids along the way for the up-to-60-mile trip to school. That’s just one part of the trip, though. We don’t have the buses or the drivers to allow us to leave the highway and pick up kids closer to their homes, which means parents and grandparents will come from as far as 30 miles away just to bring their student to the bus stop. Family members drive anywhere from 90 to 1,600 miles a month to transport students to the bus stop.

Navigating the complexities of student transportation is no easy task for any superintendent and school board. In rural Arizona, it’s even tougher. Holbrook Unified, however, has a partner that has made it all a little less daunting.

The Arizona Transportation Modernization Grant Program, launched by the state Legislature in 2021, seeks to fund innovative approaches to student transportation. This could include anything from using ride-sharing apps to creating new bus routes to, in the case of Holbrook Unified, contracting with parents in their role as drivers to help alleviate some of the financial burden they bear in getting their student to school in the morning and home at the end of the day.

The grant program, which is administered by A for Arizona, makes a difference by putting a dent in our families’ gas bills and helping to reduce car maintenance costs for things like tire replacements, oil changes and windshield repairs. When factoring in gas, insurance and maintenance costs, some of our families are spending more than $6,000 a year in student transportation costs when their mileage is calculated at the state reimbursement rate. Our grant allows us to reimburse our contractor at 40 cents per mile. It’s a tremendous financial relief.

Regardless of whether a grant is deployed in an urban or rural area, it has several benefits, from reducing absences to encouraging greater participation in extracurricular activities. But at its core, the program takes an important step in aligning Arizona’s student transportation system with its culture of school choice. The families that choose Holbrook Unified would agree with the mantra adopted by A for Arizona that school choice without a ride isn’t a choice.

I’ve seen the benefits the Arizona Transportation Modernization Grant Program can deliver to students and families. Because Gov. Katie Hobbs and the state Legislature adopted a fiscal year 2024 budget that ensures the program will continue, more districts and schools will be able to develop innovative transportation solutions on behalf of their students. They deserve our thanks.

Dr. Robbie Koerperich is the superintendent of the Holbrook Unified School District.