Another COVID ‘Hardship’ For North Caldwell Schools: Busing Nixed

NORTH CALDWELL, NJ — The North Caldwell Public School District has taken another hit from the coronavirus, and it may mean an extra “hardship” for families who rely on subscription busing, officials said Tuesday evening.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Essex Regional Educational Services Commission (ERESC) – the company that coordinates the North Caldwell Board of Education's student transportation – will not be able to provide subscription busing for the 2020-2021 school year.

The North Caldwell Board of Education will continue to provide busing to those children who we are required to bus by law, without charge, its members said.

“We are disappointed by this development,” board members wrote in an email to local families. “As we reported at our last meeting, we worked hard to maintain subscription busing as an option. When we received this update from ERESC, we explored other companies to coordinate our subscription busing program, but were not able to find a suitable alternative.”

Administrators said they are “doing everything possible” to ensure that drop off and dismissal runs smoothly at both of the district’s schools, including:

• Supporting Tiny Treasures to run programs in both schools
• Looking into earlier drop-off times at both schools
• Working with local police to manage longer car lines and additional walkers

“We thank the North Caldwell community for your understanding,” district administrators stated. “We know this will be a hardship for many families.”

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