Deptford Township School District drops transportation plan that would cut back on busing
DEPTFORD, N.J. (CBS) -- The Deptford Township School District said it does not plan to cut back on busing after debuting its 2024-2025 transportation plan in a letter to parents on Friday.
Superintendent Kevin Kanauss wrote a letter to parents on Monday saying that the decision not to change the bus plans came after the administration had discussed the community's feedback in a meeting with the Board of Education's transportation committee.
"After careful consideration, the recommendation and decision to rescind the transportation plan for the 2024-2025 school year has been made. Deptford Township Schools will continue courtesy transportation to the individual buildings that have received it in the past," Kanauss wrote in part.
Theresa Huntington, a Deptford parent, said she's relieved the school district will go back to offering courtesy busing.
"I was very excited for everybody in Deptford Township," Huntington said. "It's not safe for our kids to have to walk in a lot of these roads in Deptford Township."
However, the superintendent was quick to direct parents to Friday's transportation presentation outlining the plan for the 2024-2025 school year. Reminding parents that the reason the district originally decided to cut back on busing was to save DTSD over a million dollars in transportation and minimize the burden on their Deptford fleet of drivers.
In his letter to parents on Friday, Kanauss said this effort was projected to save over $1.6 million for the district annually.
"Please know that I could not, in good conscience, continue maintaining the same practices that have pilfered our budget and transportation department in recent years," Kanauss wrote on Friday.
Under the district's now rescinded plan, students would only qualify for busing if they lived beyond the minimum distance to the school's property line, depending on the school the child attended.
Students attending early childhood, elementary, or middle school in the district, would have to live over 2 miles from school to qualify for busing. While high school students would have to live 2.5 miles away from the high school.
However, parents of students who lived within 2-2.5 miles of their schools still had the option to pay $365 per year for subscription busing.
Michael Colona, a Deptford parent, worried the bus subscription fee would affect his family's budget.
"This is something we have to kind of consider because we live on a budget," Colona said. "We want to make sure things come within our budget so to make that work might be a challenge at first."
Deptford Township Mayor Paul Medany said the school district didn't consult with him or the police department about the busing plan.
He feared many parents would have to let their children walk to school.
"To just come up with some kind of plan that said, 'Hey, kids are walking to school now three weeks before school starts,' that's our concern," Medany said. "Safety is the top issue."
Police Chief Joseph Smith said many roads in the township are congested and don't have sidewalks.
"The situation I just don't feel is accommodating to have children walk to and from school," Smith said. "I just don't think that it is a safe environment to do so."
"I am aware and sensitive to the parents' concerns as well as Mayor Medany's feelings regarding our transportation situation. We are continuing to evaluate and discuss the transportation plan to determine if there are any alternative short-term or long-term solutions. If there are any changes, I will notify the community," Kanauss said in a statement to CBS News Philadelphia.
Kanauss concluded Monday's letter to parents by saying there is a need for more neighborhood bus stops which could increase their children's bus ride.