‘We need help’: Amid rising costs, Crete mom helps families pay for school bus passes

CRETE, Neb. (KLKN) – A Crete mom has started a foundation to help families in need pay for bus passes.

In Nebraska, many school districts follow a 4-mile rule. If you live less than 4 miles from school, your child cannot ride the bus for free, if at all.

Mishelle Kortus said her daughter just misses the cutoff.

“We live 3.9 miles from the school,” she said Tuesday.

Kortus said walking to school would take almost an hour and a half.

“There are no sidewalks, there’s no streetlights,” she said. “Anything can happen to her between here and school.”

Five years ago, Kortus said it was about $300 for one student to ride the bus during the year.

But now, it’s over $800.

“And I thought, ‘You know what? I’m tired of getting stuck with these things that someone up higher thinks we should have to come up with and pay,'” she said. “We need help. Prices are going up, and there’s just no help for the middle class.”

So Kortus created the 4 Mile Foundation to help families in the Crete community.

She is raising money with help from some local businesses.

Right now, she’s using that money to pay for bus passes for families in need.

But she’s open to using her foundation to pay for whatever families need, whether that be school lunch or an electric bill.

“I want to help people with that last tenth of a mile that you’re struggling with,” Kortus said.

On Thursday, she is presenting a check to the school that will pay for one student’s full year of bus fees.