More New Jersey school districts eliminating courtesy busing to fill budget gaps
Some lawmakers are now calling this a crisis.
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As students return to school, some districts have moved to eliminate courtesy busing to try and save money and fill budget gaps, leaving more children walking or biking two miles to school.
Some lawmakers are now calling this a crisis.
A concerned parent from Aberdeen says her daughter's courtesy route to high school was cut. She will now have to walk 1.9 miles, with a significant section being along Route 34. Lawmakers say those concerns will only grow over the coming years all due to funding.
"On top of the high cost of bussing for school districts, you have the increase of the health insurance cost with the state health benefits plan," said Assemblywoman Vicky Flynn.
Rising worker health insurance and state funding cuts are all leading to districts facing budget cuts. By state law, districts are not required to provide busing if you live within 2.5 miles for high school students and 2 miles for kindergarten to 8th graders.
"Non-mandatory bus routes are usually one of the first things that is looked at because it's such a substantial number when you are dealing with a loss of state aid," said Flynn.
Monmouth County Commissioner Director Tom Arnone saw those cuts coming and introduced a plan to help towns improve safety features along walking and biking routes to school by applying for grants.
"The right striping, the right signage, the right ability for municipalities and school boards to get the grants they can get," said Arnone.
Arnone says it won't solve the funding issues but will make routes to and from school safer. The grants will cover simple safety features like enhanced crosswalks and added flashing lights.
"I've been calling school funding to be a crisis in this state and to be treated as such which means you put all the leaders all the players in a room and you solve it," said Flynn.
