Bus service for students living one to two miles from Wareham schools will not be cut after additional funds unexpectedly became available.

On Wednesday, the Wareham School Committee approved a fiscal year 2018 budget that was $115,000 higher than initially proposed. Of that, $35,000 was added to the operations and maintenance line item and the remainder went towards transportation. Committee members approved a total $28,380,103 district budget.

The vote ends a budget saga between the town and school that required school officials to lower their initial budget proposal by $1 million earlier this month. The reduction was due to limited town funds.

To reach that figure, cuts in several areas were needed, the most problematic for parents being the loss of bus service for all students living within two miles of school. Students living one mile or less from school were unaffected as bus service was already unavailable to them.

Superintendent Dr. Kimberly Shaver-Hood informed committee members that voters at Monday’s Town Meeting approved the school budget with the added funds. She noted Town Administrator Derek Sullivan made the recommendation after finding out additional state funds were available.

The extra money was due to the delayed opening of a Plymouth charter school, Shaver-Hood said. She explained that the state had budgeted tuition reimbursement funds for the charter school. With the opening pushed back to the 2018/2019 school year, Shaver-Hood said the state had extra money for Wareham.

Committee member Geoff Swett cautioned that those funds may not be available next year when the charter school opens, and officials should start planning now.

“In a sense, all we we’re doing is dodging a bullet,” said Swett.

Even though bus service won’t be cut, big changes are still in store for the district regarding transportation.

Shaver-Hood said officials will be reexamining all of the town’s bus routes with an eye toward consolidating stops. Also, parents must register their children with the district if they plan on using bus service.

Doing so increases efficiency and lowers costs, Shaver-Hood said.

“We need to be very effective with our transportation,” said Shaver-Hood. “Half-empty busses have been going out, that will stop. Parents must let us know of students plan on using the bus.”

Other cost cutting measures include the elimination of late buses on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Before the vote, three parents stepped forward to voice their concern about the proposed cut during the meeting's public participation portion, which is held at the start of the meeting.

Those parents said safety was a main concern as young students would be forced to walk on busy highways. They mentioned difficulties juggling work and finding time to pick up children from school as well.

Committee Chair Judy Caporiccio informed them the transportation issue would be taken up later in the meeting.