Bus Compromise May Be In Works For Brick's CBA, RBC Families

A solution to the busing dilemma facing Brick Township families whose children attend private schools in Monmouth County may be at hand, the Patch has learned.

Families whose children attend Christian Brothers Academy in Middletown, Red Bank Catholic and St. James Grammar School in Red Bank were notified in late July that the Brick Township School District would no longer provide a bus for those students.

The reason, district officials have said, is that route did not receive any bids on the route when it sent that route and several others out to the Monmouth Ocean Educational Services Commission earlier this summer, and the cost to transport the students in-house exceeds the state-mandated maximum allowed.

Parents of the affected students met late last week to discuss their options and try to brainstorm a solution, because while just 12 students qualified for busing under state law, 53 students reportedly had applied for busing on that route this year.

Eunice Jinks, the mother of a junior attending CBA who is a spokesperson for the parents, said the group had contacted several bus companies seeking bids to transport the students, but had received quotes of $45,000 to as much as $100,000.

But in looking more closely at the law, Jinks said, they found the law offered another option: parents of all the affected students could pay the district to bus them.

Jinks sent a letter detailing that possibility to Interim Superintendent Richard Caldes last week, asking the district to consider that option, which says in part: “District boards of education that provide for the transportation of students pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:39-1 or a cooperative transportation services agency (CTSA) may provide for the transportation of resident and nonresident students who are not otherwise eligible for transportation services by any other law and charge the parent or legal guardian for all or part of the cost of this transportation in accordance with N.J.S.A. 18A:39-1.3.”

Jinks said Caldes responded to her and told her he had confirmed the option to charge parents to bus students to CBA and RBC was a legal option. She said he asked her to confer with the other affected families to gauge interest.

The cost per student would be roughly $500 apiece if 45 students were on the bus, she said, based on the bus cost she received from Caldes.

Of the 39 families on her email list -- “I don’t have everyone’s email,” she said -- 30 of the parents had responded with a yes to the question of whether they would be interested in that option.

Only one family responded with a no, she said.

“It’s half of the lowest price we’ve been quoted,” she said. And the cost per student would be lower than what CBA charges for a bus run the school offers -- that bus subscription is $1,500 per student, several parents said, and the closest stop is in Wall Township, they said.

Jinks said Caldes told her he would present the issue to the Board of Education and if the board approves, letters would go out to the affected families outlining the terms. Families receiving aid in lieu of free transportation could apply that aid to the cost of paying for the bus, under the law.

Caldes confirmed the content of the conversations Wednesday afternoon.

“When we get the final numbers we’ll give them a figure,” he said. “It (the agreement to bus the kids) just has to be approved by the board.”

“I am truly and pleasantly surprised,” Jinks said of her discussions with Caldes. “A guy who is willing to change gears to accommodate something they didn’t think of. I didn’t think he or she existed.”

“I hope our group appreciates this,“ she said. “Even if the board will not approve, his actions are commendable.”

The Board of Education has a special meeting scheduled for tonight, where former state Commissioner of Education Vito Gagliardi Sr. will be sworn in to fill the seat vacated when John Talty resigned in April due to health issues. An executive session that begins at 6:15 p.m. precedes the public portion, which is expected to begin at 7 p.m.