HILLSBOROUGH: Catholic school parents fear busing loss

By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
Parents of township Catholic school pupils are beginning to fear that the Hillsborough school district won’t provide busing to Somerville-area schools in the fall.
No definitive word has come from the school system, which said in a statement that "no final decisions have been made."
"We are currently exploring the impact that the decreased enrollment at non-public schools has on the per-pupil transportation cost that the district is required by state law to maintain and the options that are available," the school district’s statement said.
The issue is important to families with two working parents.
"Our son is entering kindergarten at Immaculate Conception School this fall. He has been waiting all year to ride the bus and is very excited for September," said Christine Ryba, a resident of Hillsborough.
"Busing is critically important to us, as both my husband, Andy, and I work full time and are relying on this form of transportation," she said. "I understand that the township is working on different solutions. We are hopeful that it does get resolved as soon as possible and busing is still offered. Otherwise, many parents may need to quickly assess options that best fit their work/family balance needs."
State rules and regulations prohibit school districts from spending more per pupil to transport private school students than they do for public school. So, for instance, if there are so few private school students in Hillsborough that the per student cost of each bus route becomes higher than any of the public routes, routes might have to be reduced, which in turn could lead to longer bus rides.
If Hillsborough doesn’t provide busing, it must pay stipends to parents to arrange their own transportation. Many families choose to take the stipend rather than elect to use the school buses.
This past school year, four school buses transported more than 100 Hillsborough children to the Immaculate Conception elementary and Immaculata High School. Other children attend St. Ann’s in Raritan, a pre-K to eighth grade school.
Ms. Ryba said she felt it important that parents learn definitively about busing as soon as possible. Parents would need time to arrange alternative transportation — or even withdraw from Catholic school for lack of a way to get their children there.
Communications director Erin Friedlander said in a statement, "The Diocese of Metuchen has just been made aware of Hillsborough Township’s plan to restructure some of its bus routes for the upcoming academic year. We were informed this plan may impact bus transportation for some of our parochial school students.
"A representative from the Office of Schools will reach out to the involved parties to learn more about the restructuring plan and to seek a solution that would enable continued busing service from Hillsborough to area Catholic schools.
"As more information becomes available," she said, "the diocese will notify school officials, who in turn will notify the families."