By Andrew Coen
As a result of numerous complaints, many coming from parents who send their children to yeshivas, school board President Dr. Asher Mansdorf held a public forum Monday night to address residents' concerns. "I thought it was important for the people who have been impacted by transportation issues ... [to] be able to share that with the board," Mansdorf told the standing-room-only crowd of over 100 people that packed the Lawrence Middle School cafeteria.
District officials attributed many of the busing mix-ups to a change in leadership in the transportation office following the retirement of supervisor Bob Pape after two decades on the job. Lawrence has in recent years faced immense transportation challenges, since the district now services roughly 5,800 students, with more than half of them attending more than 90 private schools in the region, and some traveling as far as Brooklyn. District officials also said that even though transportation is an expense mandated by the state, the busing challenges have been compounded by four straight years of failed budgets, forcing a reduction in the fleet of buses and a consolidation of routes.
"Our mission is to provide safe and efficient transportation to all our school-age children in the district," said Lawrence superintendent Dr. John Fitzsimons in an e-mail addressed to parents after the glitches were reported to him. "We appreciate the support received from public and private school parents during these first two weeks of school."
Parent Dahlia Weiss said that in those first two weeks, she has had major issues with her bus: Her daughter, who attends a local yeshiva, has been dropped off at the wrong bus stop. "You're dropping off a kid in a place where they don't know how to get home," said Weiss who was one of 73 speakers on the evening. "That's a safety hazard."
Another parent, Lois Stein, also spoke up at the forum, explaining that her bus stop on Merrill Avenue in Lawrence has more than 20 students getting on and off the bus. "I think it's a safety issue, having so many kids getting on and off the bus," Stein said.
Fitzsimons said in his e-mail that district officials are exploring adding additional buses and vans if money is available and the school board approves the expenses.
In addition to the large contingent of yeshiva parents who attended the forum, many in the public school community also showed up, with some saying that they felt there was unequal treatment. Some said that informal arrangements had been made with the transportation office in the past to have door-to-door pickups for private school students, but that the service has never been provided to public school students, with the exception of kindergarten. At one point in the meeting, an argument began in the audience between some public and private school parents, and Mansdorf threatened to stop the meeting if people did not behave.
"All students should get the same courtesy for [safety]," said Sandy Gargano of Atlantic Beach, whose children go to the Number Six School in Woodmere.
"Let's pass a budget and maybe we'll have some money for the busing," said Andrew Levy, a public school parent from Atlantic Beach, referring to the fact that the district is now in its fourth straight year of austerity.
Gabriel Schmidt, a public school parent from Meadowmere Park, said that 14 students are forced to walk to school from the tiny North Lawrence community, which does not receive busing for middle and high school students, and that their route crosses Rockaway Turnpike, creating a dangerous situation. Mansdorf agreed that Meadowmere Park should receive busing for older students due to its proximity to Rockaway Turnpike, and said he would do everything he could to accomplish that.
Mansdorf added that he hopes the district can resolve the problems with transportation within two weeks, and limit all bus rides within a two-mile radius to under 45 minutes. He also said he would make sure that students are treated equally when it comes to the proximity of pick-ups to their homes, whether they go to public or private school. "Whatever it is for one group of children will be done for the other group of children," Mansdorf said.
