Parents seek bus for students to cross turnpike

Dozens of Franklin Square parents are petitioning the Sewanhaka Central High School District, asking officials to provide an extra bus to pick up children in the morning and afternoon to take them from their homes to H. Frank Carey High School, thereby preventing them from crossing Hempstead Turnpike, the site of numerous accidents over the years.

The move follows the death of 12-year-old Gabrielle Johnson, who was struck and killed while crossing Elmont Road on her way to Elmont Memorial High School last year. The busing matter was brought up at a recent Franklin Square Civic Association meeting, where concerned parents addressed the civic's board.

The petition was expected to be discussed at length at the March 28 Sewanhaka Board of Education meeting, after press time. 

The Franklin Square Civic Association started the petition. It asks for a bus for students living south of Hempstead Turnpike. It, parents said, could include several designated pick-up and drop-off stops or a shuttle bus to take students to and from centrally located Rath Park.

Only students living farther than 1.5 miles from a Sewanhaka school receive busing. All others must walk or be driven. 

In addition to eliminating a dangerous pedestrian crossing for children, according to the petition's creators, the bus would also reduce traffic congestion in the morning and afternoon at the high school, where many parents drop off their children.

Christy McKenna has a son in the Franklin Square Elementary School District and a daughter in seventh grade at Carey High School. She was among the petition's creators. and said that it was written to make clear that parents are open to several options. 

"Of course everyone would prefer door-to-door service, but that could bring budget and timing issues," McKenna said. "We are simply asking for a way for our kids to be transported across the turnpike. It could be from various bus stops, from Rath Park or staggered time slots. The staggered time slots could actually work very well for Carey, since there is a zero period."

The zero period is an early-morning class during which students can meet before the regular school day begins. It serves as an enrichment period.

Maureen Mitchell, a Franklin Square resident who has a son in the Sewanhaka district, said she supports the petition. "People hear Carey High School and think a ninth-grader should be able to handle simply crossing the street," she said. "However, we have seventh- and eighth-graders attending as well. That's kids as young as 11. It also doesn't take into account that Hempstead Turnpike is one of the most dangerous roads in the state, which is reason enough for our school administrators to give this serious consideration."

Rosa Carone-Prendergast said, "I see five buses pulling into Carey every day, and they're all only about 50 percent full, if that."

Diane Hansen, who is part of the district's budget advisory committee, said the roadblock to the plan is money. "There's no way they can get this in for the coming year, as the budgets have to be submitted within the next couple of days," she said. "As we are a high school district with five schools, this is very difficult to get through. We have been carefully planning for years to make changes to the budget so that we can increase services without increasing the budget. 

"I think it's great to ask" for a bus, Hansen continued, "but you have to realize for all of the schools, the kids are crossing large streets. It would be great to have bus service, but if I have to drop my kids off at a designated pickup, I might as well drop them off at their school. It's possible to ask as one of your solutions to just start with seventh- and eighth-graders and phase it in."

Hansen estimated that the busing plan, if it were implemented at all five schools, would cost $500,000 a year. By law, she said, the district must provide seats for every eligible child. For example, the district can't say that 40 percent of children usually don't take the bus, so there is extra room and children who are ineligible for busing thus can be added to the route. Several buses would likely be required, she said.

"Each bus is over $100,000," she noted. "I'm guessing at least one bus per school would be added, but I would think more, as there's over 300 students usually in a grade. So, even if you were to phase it in to just seventh- and eighth-graders, you're talking multiple buses at each school. [At] other schools, kids have to cross Elmont Road, Jericho Turnpike, all really busy roads."

McKenna said she stands by the petition. "There are creative solutions to this problem, and we are simply asking for a solution," she said. "The petition is written to express our concern [about] crossing Hempstead Turnpike, which does not impact many of the other schools."