BOE Votes to Restore Busing

The Board of Education voted unanimously Sunday to restore busing for public and private school students, and rescind a resolution accepting a local bank’s offer to fund the private routes.

The 2011-2012 school budget had called for the elimination of so-called courtesy busing for public school grades 1 through 4.  The district was also planning to consolidate private school bus routes in a cost saving measure. , saying it would jeopardize student safety. 

Sunday’s vote reinstating busing came after the Board voted Wednesday to to restore only private school bus routes. In the latest vote, the school board opted to finance all bus routes using money budgeted for the Shalom Academy Charter School. State officials announced the as planned. 

Some residents had criticized the bank's donation for only helping private school students. The Board voted Sunday to accept the bank's offer without the requirement that funds be used for private school busing.

The fate of the donation remained unclear Sunday, but bank spokesman Stan Steinreich said they were open to discussing future projects with the school board.

The bank is no longer under the Monday deadline to submit a check for the private school routes, said Councilman Yitz Stern, a bank board member who helped lead an effort against the busing cuts. Stern credited the bank's offer with helping to restore busing for all students.

"I think we should thank the bank for being a catalyst," Stern said. "At the end of the day, it's all about the children and the children won."

Councilman Elie Y. Katz, who worked with Stern on the effort known as Safe Teaneck, praised the Board for its vote. Safe Teaneck was formed after letters went out about changes to private school bus routes, but the group has since advocated for the restoration of all busing.

"I applaud the Board of Education for using the Shalom Academy Charter School money and restoring all busing for the public and private schools," Katz said in an e-mail Sunday. "This issue is about the safety of all Teaneck kids and I am thankful to members of Safe Teaneck and the many residents that came out to support this very important issue."

Some at Sunday’s meeting raised concerns over how the debate was handled.

“This whole thing could have been handled differently and I’m ashamed by the way it was handled,” Board of Education Trustee Henry Pruitt said.

Actions by Katz and Stern to oppose the busing plan divided the community, Pruitt said.

Schools Superintendent Barbara Pinsak said it was a time to move forward and the Board was ready to work with Safe Teaneck and the township on busing-related issues.

"We're hoping that we can keep this dialog open," said Board of Education President Ardie Walser.

The Board's decision to restore the busing was based on safety concerns, Walser said in a press release issued Sunday after the vote.

“I think we have all been blind-sided by the revelation that our streets may be less safe than we thought," Walser said in the release. "We were moved by the testimony of residents, which indicates that there are many traffic hazards, as well as danger from pedophiles, not to mention opportunities for vandalism by unsupervised children in our various neighborhoods.”

In the release, Walser said police had given school officials “assurances that both the planned stops and routes were approved for safety.”

At Wednesday's meeting, Business Administrator Robert Finger said the police department had conducted an initial safety review of the proposed routes.

"There was a cursory review done. It wasn’t as thorough as we would have liked or as the Teaneck Police Department would have liked,” Finger said Wednesday. Another busing plan had been submitted to police officials on Wednesday, he said.

A more detailed analysis would have been required to fully assess the bus routes, said Police Chief Robert Wilson.  The department regularly collaborates with school officials, Wilson noted.

"Going forward, our procedures will include the [police] department signing off on all stops and routes,“ Pinsak said. 

Sunday’s vote seemingly ended an often-contentious debate that was at times tinged with accusations of a racial and religious divide.  Although busing was restored for 2011-2012, school board members noted the issue could reemerge next year.  

“We are simply not going to have an endless pot of money,” said Board of Education Trustee David Diuguid.