By AMY JONES / Associate Editor

HOOVER — The Hoover Board of Education voted to discontinue transportation services for regular education students at its July 15 meeting.

The services will end in August 2014, according to a Hoover City Schools press release.

“The system has designated the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year to the change in order to allow an extended time for adjustments to be made by parents whose children now ride buses to and from school,” the press release read.

The change is expected to save more than $2.5 million per year, which the school system will use in classrooms or to pay down debt, according to the release.

Finding ways to cut costs is necessary, as increasing enrollment and declining revenues have led to an operating revenue loss of $96.8 million for the past four years, the release stated.

Enrollment has increased, but expenditures have been reduced. Currently, on a per-student basis, the Hoover system employs 110 fewer teachers than it did in 2008.

Expenses for operations and maintenance, general administration and debt service have also declined over the last four years.

“The superintendent and school board believe that these steady losses and the impact they have had and will continue to have on the school system cannot be understated and must be addressed with significant changes that will allow Hoover City Schools to commit more financial recourses to instruction,” the press release read.