Busing Cuts Would Be Dangerous For Manalapan HS Students: Mayor

MANALAPAN, NJ — Student safety will be threatened unless additional state funding can restore courtesy busing next year for the Freehold Regional High School District, Manalapan's Mayor and Township Committee say.

Mayor Susan Cohen said 550 students - or one third of the Manalapan High School school population - would be affected by the end of courtesy busing. Busing for high school students living within a 2.5 mile-radius of Manalapan High School is not required by the state, the district has said.

"This is extremely troubling to me and I have reached out to the Governor’s office to express my dire concern for the safety of our school children," Cohen said. "This change brought about by state funding cuts does not consider the safety of our children."

The township has added its voice to those of area legislators critical of a state school funding formula that, in the case of the regional district, will amount to $30 million by the next budget cycle.

The mayor said she is "deeply troubled" by the impact state Senate bill S2 has had on state aid for the district for the past several years.

Since 2018, state aid to the district has been reduced under S2, creating budget constraints for the district that serves more than 10,000 students in six schools in western Monmouth County: Manalapan High School, as well as Marlboro, Freehold, Freehold Township, Howell and Colts Neck high schools.

What is referred to as "S2," a 2018 state aid equalization law, determined which districts were underfunded or overfunded with state aid, with adjustments in aid being applied since then.

For Freehold Regional, this has meant hard budget decisions have had to be made for the past several years as state aid cuts have been absorbed, said district Superintendent Charles Sampson.

This year, the regional district had an unanticipated $6.7 state aid decrease, based on funding formulas. The district had $4,464,057 restored in state aid, but it was still left with a more than $2 million reduction in aid.

Now the district says cutting courtesy busing is needed to close the budget gap.

Cohen said the Manalapan High School is on a residential street, located between two county roadways that don't have continuous sidewalk. The township is in the process of installing a crosswalk on County Road 522 for the safety of the students, she said.

Cohen said that in the last several years, she and former Mayor Jack McNaboe, Township Administrator Tara Lovrich, the regional schools superintendent Sampson and other officials "have gone to Trenton at least four times to express our concerns to the Governor’s Office representatives and Department of Education leadership regarding the effect these funding cuts will have on Manalapan residents."

"I also want everyone to know that I have been in contact with school administration and our Police Department and our Police Commissioner Mary Ann Musich, and we are actively working on a viable plan to reduce the risk to our students during their arrival and departure from our high school," she said in a news release Thursday.

She said they are "attempting to address the safety concerns as well as the traffic and congestion issues the busing cut will undoubtedly cause."

The busing change would go into effect in the next school year.

She said many roadways in the 2.5-mile radius do not have sidewalks and it is not feasible to install them in those locations throughout the township.

"This is an issue for Manalapan parents and the community," she added.

She said the township is "grateful to all the legislators that have come out against these cuts on both sides of the aisle."

She urged residents to contact the Gov. Murphy's office at 609-292-6000 or at constituent.relations@nj.gov to voice concerns.