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SOUTH BRUNSWICK: Private students lack busing contract

By Ed Birch, Special Writer
Nineteen families from the South Brunswick community have been notified by the Board of Education that, at present, the district would be unable to provide round trip transportation for their children to St. Paul’s Catholic School in Princeton.
The district provided these families with the legal notice of the change in the transportation on the final day of school in June, officials said. The matter was brought up to the board Monday night by parent Diane Coppola. "We are asking that the Board of Education show consideration for our situation" said Ms. Coppola, the resident of Monmouth Junction, who is the mother of two school aged children. "In addition to our children who are effected by this notification, we also have other children who have educational needs or other parental needs. Us parents will need to adjust their parental schedules based on this development. This change will certainly create hardships for everyone.
In addition, Ms. Coppola said that parents are required to register their children annually at the school in January of each year.
This procedure does not allow parents who have committed funds to the school to change their plans and enroll them in a public school. "I currently pay close to $14,000 in taxes, of which over $8,900 are earmarked for the school district. I do not presently draw on these funds, except for the costs that are associated with the transportation stipend permissible by the law," said Ms.Coppola.
She further pointed out that "the township just mailed to everyone a breakdown of the taxes that we pay to the township."
Board Secretary and Business Manager Anthony Tonzini said that the per-student allocation for the transportation has been set at $884 annually.
This creates a budget of $16,796 for the annual bus route, he said.
"The route has been bid out by the New Jersey Purchasing Consortium and no vendor has responded with any interest in the route," he said. "The Franklin district presently has 30 students who also need transportation."
Ms. Coppola asked Mr. Tonzini if state regulations permit the parents to seek a bid from approved bus companies and then consider adding their personal funds to achieve a workable contract.
Mr. Tonzini responded that he was unsure if such a practice is acceptable under present state law.
He said he would provide the group with a listing of vendors who have received the bid proposal and said that his office is willing to provide any assistance to the group in its plight.