With summer half over, bus issue still unresolved Approximately 160 out-of-district students will be affected BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer Not a single bus company bid for the Millstone Township School District's out-of-district bus runs in the initial bidding process. The out-of-district busing issue has been a hot topic in town since June, when the Millstone Township School District's business administrator, Brian Boyle, announced that parents with students who attend out-of-district schools may have to find their own transportation during the 2007-08 school year due to a national bus driver shortage. Approximately 160 Millstone students who attend school at the Children's Center of Monmouth County in Neptune, Christian Brothers Academy in the Lincroft section of Middletown, Notre Dame High School in the Lawrenceville section of Lawrence, St. John Vianney Regional High School in Holmdel, St. Rose of Lima High School in Freehold and the county vocational schools will be affected by the final decision on the busing issue. While the school district is required by law to provide transportation to its students who are attending vocational schools, private school students may have to find their own means of getting to and from classes for 2007-08. During the Board of Education's July 23 meeting, Boyle explained the process of arranging transportation for students who attend out-of-district schools. He said the process begins every year in May when parents notify out-of-district schools of their need for transportation. By May 15, the administrators of those schools send transportation requests to the Millstone Township School District's transportation office. The transportation office verifies addresses and travel distances before completing paperwork, which it submits to the Monmouth-Ocean Educational Services Commission (MOESC) by June 1. The MOESC then begins the bidding process for those bus routes. Transportation companies must notify the MOESC of their interest in providing runs by July 16. The MOESC notifies the school district of the bidding results between July 17 and July 20, and the school district notifies the parents of out-of-district school students of the results by Aug. 1. The school district can only spend $859 per student for out-of-district transportation costs, but it is allowed to spend more on transport to the county vocational schools because they are public schools. There were no bids, however, for any of Millstone's out-of-district routes, and the district is therefore looking at several other options, according to Boyle. The district asked the MOESC to rebid the routes and will receive the results by Aug. 7. A flier given to parents at the meeting listed an advantage of rebidding the routes as "the potential for successful bids for one or all runs." The flier noted that parents may not find out about the rebidding results until Aug. 14. The district is also looking at alternatives to busing in the event that the rebidding process is unsuccessful, according to Boyle. Some of the alternatives may not fall within the $859 per student limit and could place an additional financial burden on the district, according to Boyle. Although the school district could purchase more of its own buses, Boyle said it would be costly and difficult to do so and have them inspected and delivered by the time school starts Sept. 4. He also noted that this option would require the district to find, hire, train and fingerprint new drivers. Boyle said the school district is also considering consolidating its public school runs in order to be able to provide more out-of-district runs. "We will see if we can squeeze any more buses out of the runs," he said. "At best, it will be one or two. We need four or five buses to do the nonpublic runs." If the school district cannot provide transportation to its out-of-district students, it may opt to provide $859 of aid in lieu of transportation for each affected student. However, students who live more than 20 miles (door to door) away from the school they attend would not receive the aid in lieu of transportation. Parents of out-of-district students asked Board of Education President Mary Ann Friedman how the school district would accommodate those out-of-district students who would be forced to attend district schools due to lack of transportation. Friedman said that the school district would have to accept those students because of state law. Boyle said other local school districts are facing similar busing issues. He said that the Upper Freehold Regional School District did not receive any bids for its out-of-district routes and will also be rebidding. If its efforts to rebid are unsuccessful, he said, the district has decided to pay aid in lieu of transport. Washington Township and Manalapan have already decided to pay aid in lieu of transportation, Boyle said. He also said that East Windsor was able to outsource one-fifth of its out-of-district school bus routes but will have to pay aid in lieu of transportation to its other out-of-district students.