Lakewood, NJ – The Lakewood, NJ, community will have to get by without any courtesy bussing for its thousands of private school students this coming year following a ruling handed down by New Jersey State Monitor Michael Azarra last night, Matzav.com has learned.
In order to save the beleaguered Lakewood School District funds, students from all private schools – boys and girls – will ride on the same busses if no change is achieved between now and September.
Various alternatives – such as a tiered bussing schedule – that were presented to the Board of Education were rejected by the Igud Hamosdos, an umbrella communal group representation the frum mosdos of the town.
The Igud stated that it could not expand the 2014-15 tiering plan into the coming school year.
Last year, the Igud agreed to try the tiering pilot program, but, the Igud says, it reduced the number of children who benefitted. The sacrifice, the group said, was too great in comparison to the benefits.
Most of the schools that agreed to the tiering system last year would most likely not continue to do so anyway, because they will be changing their schedule to again begin classes at 9 a.m.
The State Monitor thus announced that mixed bussing will be necessary in light of the budgetary shortfall.
An additional aspect of the fallout of the State Monitor’s decision is that all students will begin and end their school hours at the same time. This, kindergarteners and junior high students will be forced to have the same schedule if this arrangement is found to have pecuniary benefits for the district, despite the absurdity of such a system.
{Dov Green-Matzav.com Newscenter}
What about having the boys sit on one side of the bus and the girls on the other and a ‘Rebbi’ or Kollel student be a ‘shomer’ on the bus. What do people do when they have to ride public transportation – subways trains planes etc
I NEED AN ACCOUNTANT TO EXPLAIN!!!!!
our taxes are is going up by 30-40 percent, and there is less money available.
i was under the impression that property taxes are what supports the public schools. if that is so, where is all that money? we pay most of the property taxesand we dont attend the schools. how would the public school system survive if they had to provide buildings for all the students who now pay for their own buildings? again i ask, where is all our tax money?
I dont know what it will take the Lakewood community to fight back. there about 5000 Public school kids (Many are not legally here, but that’s beside the point). and about 30,000 jewish kids. most of the taxes revenue come from us yidden, yet the public school kids get an average of $24,000 per kid, while we get a few hundred dollars per kid.
Explain the fairness and logic please?????
Lakewood people wake up!!!
I AM an accountant and I’m baffled as to why our taxes keep raising at such an outrageous rate. Perhaps the state monitor is here to remind us that even in Lakewood we are still in Golus.
It could be worthwhile to give up on courtesy busing. The issue is clearly being used as a way to threaten and push the kehila around. I question if if it worth it in a long run.It isn’t free.We do pay taxes for it. Maybe paying less taxes (you wish) and paying for our children’s busing ourselves is worth it.