CHAMPAIGN – A proposed contract to provide bus services for Champaign middle and high school students will be presented to school board members next month.

Members of the board of the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District Wednesday approved a resolution directing board chairman Willard Broom to sign the contract for the district upon approval by the school board, which is scheduled to meet Aug. 9.

The 2010-2011 contract calls for a 3 percent increase, raising the total to $280,386 for the school year.

"This is a long-standing relationship," said MTD Executive Director Bill Volk. "This will be our 33rd year."

The MTD transports Champaign middle school and high school students who do not live within 1- 1/2 miles of their school, he said. The program covers student transportation for after-school extra-curricular activities, but the bus passes are only good to and from the schools, Volk said.

The MTD provides stickers to the school district, which determines which students are eligible and puts the stickers on their identification, he said.

Volk told board members that MTD ridership for June was 408,000 – making it the highest June ridership ever for the district and up 13.1 percent from a year ago. June is normally one of the lowest months for ridership because the University of Illinois students are gone.