Despite the announced decision to end courtesy busing beginning February unless $6,000,000 is raised in a referendum vote, the State today already began cutting courtesy busing to some students due to insufficient funds – a move that appears to be the beginning of the end for courtesy busing come February.
In a letter obtained by TLS, the State Monitor stated that a negotiated busing deal for 117 students – 25 of which were courtesy – was cancelled due to insufficient funds in the current budget to bus non-mandated students. The dead was negotiated by the district due to no bids.
State Monitor Shafter wrote that the mandated students will be given aid-in-lieu in the meantime, while the non-mandated students will not receive busing until funds are available.
As first reported by TLS, if $6,000,000 isn’t raised in special referendum vote, courtesy busing will end in Lakewood, for both private and public schools.
[TLS]
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Do you think if all courtesy bussing is cancelled, my non courtesy route will finally have a driver available to drive it?
If yes, I’m all for the courtesy bussing cancellation.
They are trying to put pressure on the citizens to vote for the referendum. Not going to happen. We already voted in the past, got us nothing. If it was up to Azzara, they would have a referendum every year.
Makes one wonder why we are paying Azarra’s salary, since he is working for his masters in Trenton, not for the citizens of Lakewood.
Does that mean one start and end time and mixed bussing?
All we need to do is have all kids going into primary next year to register for public school.
The bus companies will sue in court because they have signed contracts for the year
Time to enroll.
Can anyone explain to me why they do not change the busing to groups to make it more affordable by having all the kids going to schools in a certain area on one bus. For example they can have a bus 4 Raintree that goes to the Oak Street schools. This will eliminate many of the long bus routes and cost. I understand that the schools play with the starting and ending times in order to avoid this however I don’t understand why we don’t pressure the schools and therefore save the taxpayers money.
If they end courtesy bussing will everyone start school at 9 again?
Once courtesy bussing is eliminated will our property taxes go down ?
Under the law every school has the right to determine their start and end times. It will be interesting to see how they manage to lawfully break contracts with the bus companies and how they can renege on a signed agreement that specifically stated that this was a one year deal regardless of the final cost. I would not bet that a Judge will allow the State to just break signed contracts and agreements so easily.
If we need to raise money to cover the busing, we will be much better off paying direct to the bus companies than to do it through our tax dollars who knows how much of the 6 million dollars will end up getting wasted before it gets all the way to the bus company.
Once courtesy bussing is eliminated will the state monitor for once be gone? Maybe it’s worth it. Have him gone, and then reinstate the bussing.
Unfortunately the monitor will not be gone even if we eliminate busing. The state fubding formula ensures that our district will never have enough money, so a monitor will he here forever.
lets end this saga. Bussing should be like lunch. If you want lunch the parent pays, if you dont want lunch you send in lunch yourself. same with bussing. the cost should be divided for the parents that want bussing. if you dont want to pay, drive your kids to school.
So convenient this was announced right before a long holiday weekend. How do we know whos bussing was cancelled? They certainly didn’t stay late today to notify those 117 families…
Which other extra-curricular non-mandated services are being chopped?
I cannot believe that the critical safety busing service would be the only item on the chopping block?!
So can someone explain yet how each year there is millions of new revenue from all this development yet less money. Why is the P&L for Lakewood -with each line item clearly spelled out – no available on a public website for inspection? Why? Why? Why?
I am so confused, I wish we had a state mandated translator that could translate into plain simple English all these terms.
Maybe Isaac , if you’re awake(and you for sure are) and you can do us a favor and translate the following:
A: What exactly is courtesy busing and when is a bus courtesy as opposed to the rquired busing by the state?
B: Why would 100 kids get kicked off , who are they and why are they different than anyone else?
C: What does aid-in lieu mean , and what’s the difference between mandated and nonmandated?
D; Would having mixed buses (boys and girls save this crisis)?
E: Why would there be no bids on a bus route, don’t bus companies like money?
This whole thing is just so confusing
Here is a very simple questionare for BOE, can anyone answer it?
1. What is the total overall income of BOE including local and state?_________
2. What is the overall Public school budget?_________
3. What is the overall busing budget?__________
4. What is the remainder amount and where does that money go?_________________________________________
I’m just so curious ,can someone answer?
Happy Turkeyday
Where’s Rechnitz!?????!!!
The busing should affect both public and private school students. So what’s the breakdown? How many are public students and how many are private school students?
If the mandated bussing students will still be getting aid-in-lieu of bussing, how does cancelling their bussing and reimbursing the parents save the board of ed money? Unless the board of ed is giving a pitiful amount of aid-in-lieu value vs. the real cost to bus.
Due to the gas price decrease there is a large savings for bus companies this year
I think the Boe should renegotiate the old contracts
Gas went down 30% or more
That should be a large savings in which we can save money
Time to start homeschooling
If they finally found a bus company willing to pick up these runs,why dont they at least let the 100 mandated kids get bussing.That money they do have. Something sounds strange
I don’t understand..if there is no courtesy bussing money how is there money to “compensate students & parents” for not being able to be picked up by a bus route. Where is the money coming from?
And to Gas Money..most busses run on Diesel which has not gone down but has stayed steady. Fuel costs are still the same.
To #14:
Bussing is very expensive. Therefore, like many expensive things, the cost is distributed amongst everyone whether or not they need the bussing service at that time (such as police, emt, firefighters, politicians etc.).
If families that need bussing pay out of pocket, it would be too great a burden on many individual families – That’s why it should be covered by taxes.
To all you people, having kids costs money it’s not anyone’s responsibility to get them educated other then the parents. Now yes there is public schools but if you want to send to private you have to pay.
Time to register in public schools. Let’s do it and solve this once and for all. State will kick in immediately, there won’t be any room.
Regarding the comment to compare it to lunch- majority of people are getting lunch at a discount subsidized by the state. Won’t work here.
I am so ready to enroll in public school. I would personally go with my kids and enroll. This is insane. He cut a deal, then he cuts the deal all for what…. a few measly bucks from courtesy bussing. Who are we fooling, this won’t balance the budget. This is just being a pain in the neck. I hope our community leaders get some seichel and decide it is time to put a real plan into action. – Staging traffic protests? please…. I am ready to enroll in public school at the drop of a dime. I’ll even camp out to do it instead of black friday deals.
To all of you threatening to register your children in Public School please feel free to. Just remember Public Schools don’t serve Kosher food, don’t separate boys and girls on the buses and lastly leave your Torah at home NO religion is allowed in Public Schools.
To all of you threatening to register your children in Public School please feel free to. Just remember Public Schools don’t serve Kosher food, don’t separate boys and girls on the buses and lastly leave your Torah at home NO religion is allowed in Public Schools.
They should heavily expand public transportation like the L. Then you give bus passes to the older elementary and all the high school kids. The passes are paid for by the Board of Ed. This creates efficiency since the busses will be full and you no longer divide by school. It would also ease traffic and increase the general availability of public transportation. It works well in other places in the US and in Israel.
They just cut my kids mandatory bussing. This isn’t a only courtesy bussing cut. I live around 3 miles away from the school!