Lindenwold Parents Outraged After Bus Service Discontinued For Some Elementary School Students
By Cleve Bryan
LINDENWOLD, NJ – It's the first day of the school year and already, dozens of parents are furious with Lindenwold Public Schools because they say their kids are expected to walk a potentially dangerous route to school.
Families of about 40 kids who took the E4 bus were told over the summer in a letter that since they live within two miles of Elementary School #4, their children are legally allowed to walk.
The District says the decision to eliminate the route was a policy decision and not just about saving the $20,000 - 30,000 a year a bus route costs.
"NJ State law requires that all elementary students that live over two miles from school are entitled to transportation. When students live within the two mile radius, the State says that the students are considered walkers," explained Lindenwold's business administrator, Kathleen Huder, in an email to Eyewitness News.
She went on to say the E4 bus route was not eligible for an exception to the two-mile rule under the Board of Education's policies because the children do not have to cross railroad tracks or the White Horse Pike.
"The decision was not financial – it was equitable. There are several other areas in the town of Lindenwold that also fall into this category," said Huder.
For the month of September, the district has resource officer Ron Trabosh, who is normally positioned at the high school, meet students from the E4 route at a spot about a mile from the school to walk with them.
A half dozen parents and grandparents were at the corner of Linden and Emerson at 8:10 a.m. on Thursday so they could meet officer Trabosh face to face.
"They're still young; they're not like in middle school. There's a difference. I think it's a necessity for them to have transportation," says Rodrick Brown, who has two young children he's afraid to let walk alone.
In the end, only one seven-year-old boy walked with officer Trabosh, and the other parents drove their kids, despite concerns they can't provide rides every day.
The boy and Trabosh walked down Linden Avenue and turned right on Berlin Road but ran into a dangerous problem when the sidewalk ended at the intersection of Berlin and Oak Road.
Officer Trabosh took the boy by the hand to cross the busy road and had to stop in the middle of the street as a car zoomed past.
Parents shuddered to think what could happen after September, when the kids are expected to walk without supervision.
"Anyone not paying attention could run one of the children over in a heartbeat; it's not safe," says Ed Hankin, who asked his boss for the morning off so he could drive his child to school.
Danielle Witsch who has multiple sclerosis says she can neither drive nor walk her child the one and quarter miles to school.
"I talked to the superintendant and was told they're sorry for my situation," says Witsch. "I'm expected to walk my son or let him walk on his own at 6-years-old."
Lindenwold says only about half of the 2,500 students in the district are provided buses, and despite the insufficient sidewalk situation, Eyewitness News pointed out there's been no indication from administration they'll consider reinstating the route.
"The Board's sincere position is that they would like to bus every student in this District; however, due to resources, we need to draw the line somewhere," said Huder.
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