New bus policy gets thumbs-up

Last week’s Valley Stream Central High School District Board of Education meeting was a bit different from those in February and March. After months of back-and-forth discussion among board members, administrators and parents, the board reached a compromise on transportation to private schools.

Trustees unanimously adopted a resolution on April 9 that establishes new transportation parameters for students who attend private schools. For years the district has given MTA MetroCards to those students when there were too few of them attending one school to justify the expense of renting a yellow bus. When the board approved transportation changes to three private schools — Chaminade High School in Mineola, Sacred Heart Academy in Hempstead and the Crescent School in Hempstead — in February, parents sought to make a change to the policy.

According to one of the policy’s new provisions, seventh- and eighth-grade students, and those who attend a private school at which at least 20 students from Valley Stream are enrolled, will automatically be transported via yellow bus. Students in grades 9-12 will get a yellow bus if it takes them more than 90 minutes or they have to make more than one transfer to get to school via public transportation, which has been board policy in years past.

Also included in the policy are centralized pickup points for students who use yellow-bus transportation. Under state law, students can walk up to two miles to get picked up, but board members and administrators said that will not be the case in Valley Stream. Pickup points will be determined once bids for private buses come back in late June or early July.

Superintendent Dr. Bill Heidenreich said he was initially concerned that providing more students with yellow buses would lead to a significant increase in transportation costs, but centralized pickup points help reduce costs. “The goal here is to really make this as convenient as we can,” he said, “and at the same time, minimize the number of buses that we’re utilizing so we can preserve a yellow-bus system.”

Private-school parents had been vocal while transportation changes were discussed, speaking at board meetings and talking about the issues behind closed doors with Heidenreich and board members. With an agreement finally in place, several parents thanked the administration and board for working with them to reach a compromise. Virginia Clavin-Higgins, a private-school parent and village board trustee, said she was impressed with everyone involved and added that the policy is “sustainable and budget-conscious.”

Board President Tony Iadevaio cited the large turnout at last month’s annual Legislative Breakfast as a reason why the policy came to be. Under the adopted state budget, the district received $440,000 more in state aid than in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s January proposal.

The district will use some of the additional funds to reduce transportation costs, Heidenreich said.

In March, the board adopted a $106.2 million spending plan. In order to stay within its 3.06 percent tax levy increase, the board had to make $2.65 million in cuts. Fifteen full-time teaching positions, as well as several part-time teacher assistants, part-time teachers, custodians and other support positions, were cut, and three district sports teams — rifle, golf and bowling — were eliminated. Each of the district’s four schools will eliminate five clubs as well.

Heidenreich said that some of the additional aid would help balance class sizes and restore electives and some part-time positions. In addition, some staff members who have been reduced from full- to part-time may be restored to full-time status. “We continue to review student course selection sheets in order to make these determinations,” he said.

Not everyone is pleased

Parents and students who are members or fans of the rifle and bowling teams remain unhappy with the spending plan. Heidenreich said he has met with rifle team members and their coach, in addition to the bowling coaches, but was not met halfway when looking for a compromise. “I’m still willing to talk to people,” he said, “but people can’t just come and say, ‘We want it, it’s all, it’s nothing.’”

Rifle team supporters recently sent the board and administration information on a rubberized trap, an upgrade from the steel trap used currently at the Memorial Junior High School rifle range. Heidenreich said that the upgrade would cost an estimated $60,000 and has the capability to capture a bullet, which reduces splatter, ricochet and bullet fragmentation. However, he added, the range would still require an annual lead abatement, which is the team’s greatest single expense. The squad has won seven consecutive state championships, its latest coming in March.

Patty Farrell, the president of the Central/Memorial PTSA, questioned why the board is cutting the teams and electives that, she said, make Valley Stream students well rounded, and help them stand out on college applications. “Why is the board so willing to make budget cuts to the things that mean the most to our students?” she said.

After fielding questions on the subject in months past and speaking with the board’s attorney, Iadevaio said that students and parents are allowed to raise funds on their own to try to save their respective teams.

The public will vote on the budget on May 21, and it will require a simple majority to pass.