School busing task force sets six goals

Next meeting set Nov. 15

By John Tredrea
   A Valleywide task force on school busing met for the first time Nov. 1, set itself six basic goals and agreed to meet again Nov. 15.
   The task force was formed in response to the school district’s controversial plan to discontinue all busing not required by state law at the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year.
   Already taken off the school bus this year have been 200-plus students who live in the Brandon Farms and Penn View Heights developments in Hopewell Township.
   The school district maintains these children can walk to school safely, although many parents have disagreed.
   The approximately 820 students slated to lose busing next year would have to walk routes the district considers dangerous. However, the district is not required to bus them, since all of these students are either in elementary school and live less than two miles from school or in secondary school and live less than two and a half miles from school.
   "So we’ve got kids facing unsafe walks, and they need to get to school. How are we going to do it?" asked Hopewell Township Mayor Vanessa Sandom, a member of the task force.
   Task force member Murray Peyton of Pennington suggested six basic goals the task force agreed formed a good starting point. Mr. Peyton said school busing should:
   • Provide safe passage to school;
   • Adhere to all legal requirements;
   • Be cost effective;
   • Have the minimal possible impact on school programs;
   • Be administratively efficient;
   • Work within budget caps.
   School officials say tightened state controls on school budgeting, meant to reduce school spending, are forcing the district to cut services.
   "The school board found it necessary to look at all nonmandated services (as possible areas to cut) in order to protect our educational program," said school board member Judy Karp, who attended the task force meeting with schools Superintendent Judith Ferguson.
   Dr. Ferguson said the board decided to cut nonmandated busing rather than making cuts in music, sports and other areas. Cuts in those areas still may have to be made in the future, she said. Some of the cuts could come in the form of charging user fees to students who don’t have to pay them for participating in music, sports and other activities now. The district already has enacted a subscription busing program for those who lost school busing. Under this program, families pay for the busing.
   Dr. Ferguson said the school board fully expected, "from the beginning," that the municipalities would take over the cost of the nonmandated hazardous busing slated to be eliminated next September.
   Task force Chairman Paul Anzano, Hopewell Borough councilman, predicted hazardous busing would indeed be continued next year. He said the only question is who would pay — the school board (if it changed its mind) or the towns. Task force member Joseph Lawver, Pennington councilman, said "parents" are another possible funding source, as they are now in subscription busing.
   The cost of busing township students slated to lose busing next year is $291,000; for Pennington students, $112,000; for Hopewell Borough, $1,500.
   On Nov. 15, reports are expected from financial officers of the Valley’s municipalities on the implications for their own budgets of taking over nonmandated hazardous busing costs.