Transportation Costs Related to Charter Schools

As fuel prices rise and school district budgets shrink, transportation costs remain a concern. State law influences how local money is spent to get students to and from school—including proposed charter schools.  

Should a charter school come to Montclair, other districts sending students here could find themselves footing the bill to bus eligible students. Likewise, if charter schools in nearby towns are approved, the Montclair district will likely provide transportation or cash for eligible families. 

State law N. J. S. A. 18A:39-1 requires that elementary students who live 2 miles, and high school students who live 2.5 miles from school, and fewer than 20 miles, be offered transportation.

The same law dictates that any district that buses students within the community is required to provide either transportation or money, what’s known as “aid in lieu of transportation,” to students who live in the district but attend either private or public schools, including charters.

The "aid in lieu" figure is set by the state at $884 per student. Parents apply for the benefit in March; payment is made in June of the following school year.

A Feb. 18, 2011 letter from the state’s Acting Assistant Commissioner of Education, Yut’se O. Thomas, to the Springfield, NJ Board of Education clarifies the point. “Public school students are all students attending regular public school programs provided in their resident districts, all students attending vocational school, charter school, choice school or any other specialized public school program…” The letter further makes the point that charter school students must be transported or given “aid in lieu.”

What this means for local districts is that, in addition to funding charter schools — up to 90% of the costs of educating each individual child – a bus route must also be paid for or checks written to eligible families.