On Monday the MV Transportation team, which provides transit services in Santa Clarita on behalf of the city, presented a giant bus pass check for $2,600 to Hart District officials. The money will be used to provide low-income students with bus passes to get to and from school.

“We think about kids needing pencils and needing a meal, but we forget how do the kids get to school,” said Richard Varner, Director of Transportation for the William S. Hart Union High School District.

Through a series of fundraising activities, MV Transportation employees raised enough money to purchase 80 bus passes to local students in need.

The managers were dunked in water and got pies thrown in their faces to help raise money, said MV Transportation General Manager Jim Schultzman,

“We also did hot dog sales, ice cream sales and open donations. To tell you the truth, the open donations with the employees yielded the most money. One employee donated more than $100. These guys really stepped up to the plate,” Schultzman said.

Transportation funding in the district was cut in the 2011-2012 school year, Varner said.

Roughly 4,000 hart district students use city transportation to get to and from school daily, and about 400 students in the district are considered homeless, he said.

“I’m amazed at their generosity,” said Rob Challinor, Hart District Superintendent. “Getting a student to school is critical to their success, they need to be in class each and every day.”

Hart District students return to school on Thursday, Aug. 15, for the start of the new school year.