Assistance and cost efficiency were achieved when the Hillsborough Township Board of Education unanimously passed a resolution to participate in coordinated transportation with the Educational Services Commission of New Jersey for the 2019-20 school year.
“This is a resolution that is renewed each year by our Board of Education. This is not a new resolution. The ESCNJ assists our transportation department in finding shared routes and additional small buses for our out-of-district and special needs students,” said Aiman Mahmoud, Hillsborough Township School District Business Administrator.
On May 13, the nine-member board of President Judith Haas, Vice President Lorraine Soisson, Joyce Eldridge-Howard, Gregory Gillette, Ann Harris, Lisa Maroun, Chris Pulsifer, Jane Staats and Jean Trujillo voted ‘yes’ to approve the resolution.
The ESCNJ’s mission is to provide statewide partnerships with school districts and coordinate cost-efficient purchasing opportunities for educational institutions and municipalities to limit the tax burden on New Jersey residents, according to ESCNJ officials.
With this resolution the ESCNJ will organize and schedule transportation routes to specific destinations to achieve the maximum cost effectiveness, according to the resolution.
The ESCNJ will provide the following services for the district.
Routes coordinated with other districts to achieve a maximum cost reduction while maintaining a realistic capacity and travel time, monthly billing and invoices, computer printouts of student lists for all routes coordinated by ESCNJ, all necessary interaction and communication between the sending district, receiving school, and the respective transportation contractors; constant review and revision of routes; and transportation within three days or sooner after receipt of the written request.
The next Hillsborough Township Board of Education meeting is slated for June 10 at the Auten Intermediate School on 281 Auten Road.