Some West Hempstead parents say more buses are a need, not a luxury

    When she decided to initiate a referendum to get her local school district to provide more transportation, West Hempstead resident Ann Koffsky had no idea what she was getting herself into.
    The mother of three had for years struggled to balance work, home and carpools. "The past couple years I had just been drowning with the carpooling," she said. "It's just such a stress on many people's lives, particularly families that have two working parents or on parents that have babies."
    Finally, last summer, she decided to take action to help simplify her life and the lives of other struggling parents: after looking into her options, Koffsky and her "partner-in-crime," Beth Lauro, gathered support from some 250 people and formally proposed the expansion of district-provided buses from three-quarters of a mile to three-tenths of a mile.
    As it stands, the district provides bus transportation for all elementary school students who attend the Chestnut Street, Cornwell Avenue and George Washington schools –– as well as those who attend the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County and St. Thomas the Apostle –– and live .75 miles or more away from their schools. If the referendum, which will be placed alongside the budget on the ballot this May, passes, students who live within .3 miles of their schools will get bussed.
    The 456 children in the district who do not receive transportation are called "walkers," but most of them don't actually walk to school. "It never really made sense that our kids could walk, which is why carpools exist. ... No body lets their kindergartner, who's five, cross Hempstead Turnpike," Koffsky said. "The policy is currently anachronistic. From the days when the streets weren't as busy, when you didn't get a sex offender letter every week, when there weren't two working parents – when it was written it made sense. But now, the policy has developed into something that's basically unfair. Some people get bussed, some people don't, for no particular reason." The policy dates back to 1961.

    Under the bus proposition, the number of students who will receive transportation jumps from 639 to 1,095, which means 10 additional buses at a cost of approximately $608,000, according to Richard Cunningham, West Hempstead schools assistant superintendent of business and operations.
    As soon as news of the referendum was made public, it was hit with a wave of criticism from local parents, many of whom objected to the idea of paying additional taxes for services they wouldn't need or for which they would not be eligible. Further objections were made when Cunningham explained that if the referendum is passed, but the budget fails, the cost of the new transportation requirements would have to be incorporated to any future budget adopted by the Board of Education. If the board adopts a contingent budget, which this year allows no increase, the cost of the new transportation would result in an equal cut in programs and staffing.
    Neither Koffsky, whose children attend HANC, nor Lauro, who sends her two daughters to St. Thomas, anticipated such a reaction. And, they certainly had not wanted to cause friction within the West Hempstead community, where each has lived for more than a decade.
    "It was a simple little thing and it seems to be blowing up so much – that's not the intent of the whole thing," Lauro said. "It was never intended to anger people, which is what it's kind of seemed to do."
    As for the possibility of causing a rift between the private and public school communities, Koffsky said, "We really don't want that to happen. This is a yes, yes campaign." She and Lauro are urging their supporters to vote in favor of both the bussing proposition and the budget. "Our whole point is that kids should have what they need, and we don't to take anything from any kids, we just want to give more to kids."
    Neither woman wants to see the district undergo budget cuts. "Even though I don't use them, I want the public schools to be great," Koffsky said. "It's my neighborhood. It affects my property values. It affects my neighbor's kids. These are my friends, why wouldn't I want the public schools to be great?"
    Sharon Lovy, a West Hempstead resident who works for Sharona Beck Realty, said the affect school transportation has on real estate is tremendous. "[B]y allowing more children to be bussed to the schools, more potential home owners will consider West Hempstead as their future home," Lovy wrote in an email to the Herald. "This is an issue that is mentioned to me time and again when I show potential houses in the neighborhood. These circumstances affect families in all socio-economic statuses and at all the schools, public and private."
    Lovy went on to say: "As we walk and drive around the neighborhood and see the 'for sale' signs that are sprouting up on every street, we should consider the fact that West Hempstead would be a far more attractive town for many families if transportation to school became less of a challenge. As more homes get sold, West Hempstead becomes a more valuable place to live in."
    As May approaches and voting day nears, the two moms are attempting to reach out to their neighbors and friends to discuss the issue. What they want to get across is simple: put yourself in our position.
    "I understand that it's maybe something that you don't need because that's where you are in your life, but there are other people who are in a different place in their life and you have to put yourself in their shoes," Koffsky said. "Even if you might not need it, there are people who do. And you might become one of those people, even though you cannot imagine it."
    For more information, visit Koffsky's and Lauro's Facebook page, West Hempstead Voters in Support of Fair Bussing. Additional information and maps of the areas that could potentially receive increased transportation are available at the West Hempstead school district website, www.whufsd.com.

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