Schools
Hazlet Schools To Eliminate Some Bus Routes For 2025-26 School Year
The cuts come following "continuing budget challenges" for the district and will affect students in grades K-12, school officials said.
HAZLET, NJ — The Hazlet School District will be eliminating a variety of bus routes for the 2025-26 school year due to continuing budget challenges, Superintendent Scott Ridley said on Monday.
As per NJ state law, Ridley said students in grades 9-12 who live within 2.5 miles of the school they attend will no longer be eligible to receive transportation from the district. K-8 students who live within two miles of their school will not be eligible either.
Though some students may no longer be eligible for district transportation, Ridley said no student of any age will be expected to cross Route 35 or Route 36 on foot. Instead, bus transportation will be provided across those highways.
Find out what's happening in Holmdel-Hazletfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The district has been working with Hazlet Police to identify crossing guards and other safety features, Ridley said.
Students with IEPs that specifically identify this need will receive transportation, according to school officials. Additionally, a limited amount of subscription busing will be available (parents can call the Business Office at 732-264-8402 for further information).
Find out what's happening in Holmdel-Hazletfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“We recognize that this is not an ideal situation,” Ridley said. “Though, with these changes in place, the district stands to save a significant amount of the $2.4 million budget deficit, which will allow us to continue supporting various programs and services currently funded. Thank you.”
In their March 17 meeting, the Board of Education introduced a motion to adopt their tentative budget for the 2025-26 school year.
Though the board introduced a motion to adopt, the budget itself is tentative, and a public hearing will be held for the budget at the board’s next meeting on April 28 at Raritan High School, the agenda said.
For the 2025-26 school year, Hazlet Township schools received $6,358,441 in state aid, which is $196,653 (roughly 3% less) than what they got the year before.
Overall, 392 NJ districts are slated to receive increased funding for the upcoming school year, while 175 are seeing funding cuts, and 7 districts have the same aid amount as they did in 2024-25.
To see the full video from Superintendent Ridley, you can click here. To read a transcript of the video, you can click here.
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