Reply To: School Board Monitors in Lakewood & East Ramapo

Lesschumras:

I don’t live in Lakewood NJ nor do I have children that use school buses.

The district has a deficit of $9.5 million and the monitor is going to cut courtesy busing the yeshivas and or the parents should sue him for breach of contract. If the public schools parents are mostly immigrants and over 40% are courtesy busing recipients. Will they know that they don’t get busing anymore? Will it effect attendance? As district revenue is based on public school attendance every day a student misses school is less money for the district.

As far as Roosevelt & Hempstead if the state could just takeover a school district why in East Ramapo does the state require a school monitor veto bill before doing? I think in the cases you cited the district and or city invited the state to takeover. While in East Ramapo the state is trying to force itself on the district.

As far as getting a budget increase this year it is highly unlikely as the both the seniors and the Orthodox Jews will be against as the budget must be voted and approved by May so soon after the courtesy busing cut. Any saving they may get by cutting courtesy busing will be offset by addition cost for mandatory busing in future years and the loss of budget increases in the future.