Angry West Windsor and Plainsboro parents who send their children to private school but couldn’t get adequate bus service provided by the the WW-P regional school district gathered at a special meeting on August 30. Newly hired Transportation Director Ed Treadaway worked out a way to meet needs under state laws which mandate that the district provide buses but restricts what they can spend. ##M:[more]## Over sixty attendees were present, many expressing frustration and disappointment in the district’s inability to secure a route for their children while the school year was just a week away.
Most attendees were parents of students at St. Paul’s Elementary School and Notre Dame High School, the two private schools which, as of the start of the meeting, had not had their busing issues resolved.
Angry parents lambasted Treadaway for his perceived inattention to and inability to fix the problem.
“”You keep talking about how much you care about the kids. I don’t think you give a rat’s ass about the kids,”” said one mother who did not identify herself.
Another said, “”The way you’ve gone about creating these routes–there is no other way to describe it. It’s insanity.””
Treadaway deflected the criticism, and invited Rich Tesoni, principal for Lions Tours Bus Service to the podium to address complaints and second his claims that the laws were the cause of the problem. The two then dramatically left the auditorium to negotiate. Their discussion resulted in a tentative agreement for busing the St. Paul’s and Notre Dame students.
The rest of the group gathered to try to solve the problem included Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein, and representatives from the offices of Assemblyman Bill Baroni and State Senator Peter Inverso, all from the 14th District. Robert Loretan, superintendent of schools and Larry Shanok, assistant superintendent, were also a part of the meeting.
State law requires the school district to provide busing for private school students, but restricts the amount that can be spent per student. This year, the school district can pay no more than $826 per pupil to secure a contract. This figure is about four percent higher than last year’s figure. Legislators and administrators were not able to offer a reason for the current structure of the law, but all agreed it is flawed and should be changed.
According to Tesoni, Rising fuel and labor costs have apparently caused transportation company prices to increase greatly in the last year. Lion Tours service charged the district between $22,”000 and $26,”000 per year last year, and was asking $38,”000 to perform the job this year. The district would only be able to pay that rate with a full busload of students. Fewer than 46 students would be on the bus, so according to the law, the district was prohibited from paying that much.
If the proposed contract is accepted, Lion Tours will use two buses to take students to school in the morning, and one in the afternoon. The late bus that was available last year is “”not an option,”” according to Treadaway.
Treadaway said without a full bus load, he would not have been able to pay enough. Some students are eligible for aid in lieu of bussing,
wherein the students arrange their own transportation and the district gives them the amount it would have spent directly.
Superintendent Robert Loretan and others vocalized the need for the law to change, and Assembly member Greenstein said she would do everything in her power to make a change.
Prior to the public meeting, Loretan, Treadaway, other school administrators and the legislators met privately. The start of the meeting, posted as 7 p.m., was delayed until 7:17 while the attendees waited for the public session to begin.
Treadaway confirmed that the discussion included talk of getting the law changed before the district has to face the issue again next year.
He added, “”I’m not at liberty to say what we discussed until they work out the details.””
