Lakewood, NJ’s private school transportation crisis escalated dramatically this afternoon, as mosdos across the township began advising parents not to opt in to the LSTA’s non-mandated busing program at the newly imposed $945-per-student rate, a coordinated move that could leave the transportation system without the participation and funding it needs to operate as currently structured, Matzav.com has learned.
The extraordinary recommendation comes amid mounting outrage over the loss of government funding for non-mandated transportation and the resulting decision to more than double the amount charged for each affected student, from $385 last year to $945 for the coming school year.
Rather than accept the massive increase and pass it along to Lakewood families, mosdos are now taking the position that parents should not enroll their children in the non-mandated program at the new rate.
The message is unmistakable: Lakewood parents should not be expected to personally make up for government funding that disappeared.
In an email sent Friday afternoon to Lakewood mosdos by Igud Hamosdos, schools were informed that following discussions with numerous mosdos throughout town, they were being asked to convey a unified message to parents.
“As you are all aware, the LSTA did not receive funding to help cover non-mandated busing. As a result, the fee for non-mandated transportation has been increased to $945 per student,” the email states.
The email then delivers the key recommendation: “Please notify your parents that, at this time, you do not recommend that they opt in to the Non-Mandated Busing program at the newly requested rate.”
“The feeling is that the cost of this transportation should be covered through government funding and should not be placed on the parents,” the email adds.
A sample notice was provided for mosdos to distribute directly to parents, stating that the yeshiva believes the $945 transportation charge should be funded by government rather than Lakewood families.
“Therefore, at this time, our recommendation is that parents NOT opt in to the Non-Mandated Busing program at the new rate,” the proposed message says.
That recommendation began reaching parents Friday afternoon.
In one message sent on behalf of Lakewood Cheder and Bais Faiga, parents were told, “Regarding the LSTA new fee for non mandated students, the Lakewood Cheder and Bais Faiga feel this is a fee that should be covered by government and not the parents. Our recommendation is to NOT opt in.”
The development represents a major new front in the rapidly unfolding LSTA controversy that has Lakewood region residents up in arms.
Until now, the central question confronting families was how they were supposed to absorb an unexpected $945 transportation bill for each child who requires non-mandated busing. For a family with several affected children, the cost could quickly run into thousands of dollars annually, on top of tuition and the already substantial expenses of raising a family.
Now, however, the issue has moved beyond whether individual parents can afford the fee.
If the recommendation from Lakewood’s mosdos results in large numbers of parents declining to opt in, the financial and operational foundation of the non-mandated busing program itself could be thrown into jeopardy.
The LSTA transportation system depends upon a broad network of routes carrying children to private schools throughout Lakewood. If thousands of eligible students are not enrolled because their parents have been advised not to pay the $945 fee, the system could face an unprecedented situation in which the number of participating students — and the revenue associated with them — drops sharply.
That raises the possibility of a breakdown of the current LSTA model and puts enormous pressure on state and local officials to find another solution.
The mosdos’ position effectively turns what had been presented as a financial burden on individual families into a broader battle over who is responsible for funding transportation for Lakewood’s schoolchildren.
Local roshei mosdos are making clear that, in their view, the answer is not parents – nor the mosdos.
The showdown traces back to the failure to secure the government funding that had helped subsidize non-mandated transportation in previous years. Without those funds, the amount required from parents soared from $385 to $945, an increase of $560 per student, or approximately 145%.
The increase immediately sparked alarm throughout Lakewood, particularly among families with multiple children requiring transportation.
For many parents, busing is not an optional convenience. Lakewood’s enormous geographic footprint, heavy traffic and the distances between residential neighborhoods and the community’s numerous mosdos make transportation an essential part of the school infrastructure.
The coordinated recommendation not to opt in dramatically raises the stakes.
If parents follow the schools’ guidance en masse, there will be no easy way to simply shift the missing government funding onto families. Instead, the consequences will land squarely on the transportation system itself, potentially forcing government officials and other stakeholders back to the table.
The timing also adds urgency to the crisis. The new school year has already begun for the boys and will begin soon for the girls, leaving little room for prolonged negotiations or uncertainty over whether thousands of children will have transportation to school.
For now, mosdos are telling parents to hold the line.
What began as a staggering increase in a busing fee has therefore become something considerably larger: A potential standoff over the future of Lakewood’s school transportation system.
The mosdos are saying that families should not be forced to fill a government funding hole by writing checks for $945 per child. And by urging parents not to opt in, they are making clear that they are prepared to challenge the new arrangement rather than quietly accept it.
If enough parents heed that call, the question will no longer be whether Lakewood families can afford the new LSTA fee.
It will be whether the LSTA system can function without them.
{Matzav.com}
