Board Notes: Safe Walking Routes a Priority

Livingston's Board of Education met on Monday and moved the following agenda items along, according to Jessica Ganz, Manager of Communications and Community Outreach for the district:

• Safe Walking Routes — Due to budgetary constraints, LPS will be replacing courtesy busing for some students with subscription busing.  Subscription busing is fee-based busing for those students who do not live within the parameters for free busing but still wish to take transportation to school (LPS follows state guidelines in providing free transportation for children in grades K-8 who live more than 2 miles from school and for children in grades 9-12 who live more than 2½ miles from school).  As a result of the fee, the district expects more students to be walking to school, and in some cases, along busy roads.  Many parents expressed concern that some of these roads, such as Eisenhower Parkway, are dangerous. The board is working with Livingston's police department to develop maps for each school neighborhood with safe routes; also the LPD is looking into assigning more crossing guards to busy areas.
• The board approved a standard agenda item (3.2) to pay bills, including those associated with the legal fees involved in the ethics claims currently pending between and among current and former Board of Education members.  These current and former Board members are entitled by law to indemnification for any and all claims (pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:12-20) brought against them before the School Ethics Commission.
• Roof work on the elementary schools in the district will be completed by the end of August, according to a representative from Turner Construction.

The board's next meeting is August 16 at 4 p.m..  For a complete agenda of Monday's meeting, click here.