Video: Anger Continues Over School Bus Cuts

Public ire over the Smithtown Central School District’s plan to cut bus service next year continues to pick up steam nearly two months since locals passed the controversial proposal.

At Tuesday’s school board meeting, Sam Erwin, a volunteer firefighter in New York City, lambasted the board over the bus route pare-down, especially given the dangerous nature of many Smithtown streets.

“The other day I was walking with my family on Main Street going to get ice cream, [it] also happens to be the same route that my daughter would have to walk to school. I felt more safe standing in the middle of a highway at an accident than I did walking down Main Street," Erwin said.

The bus referendum, which passed 3,915 votes to 3,055 on May 17, increases distances for children to get bus service to school – at the elementary level the distance will now be one-half mile limit, secondary schools will now have a one-and-a-half mile limit, and private and parochial schools will now have a 15 mile limit.

“What you’re planning to do here is make five to 11-year-old children for elementary school walk to school on a dangerous road,” continued  Erwin.

The heart of the issue continues to be the wording of the referendum, which members of the community say was confusing to voters.

Jennifer Savickis, a frequent speaker at the board meetings, said the language of the referendum, written by school attorney Eugene Barnosky, even befuddled some board members, which was seen at the June 20 special board.

“It took 15 minutes of the board back-and-forth between the members and the board attorney for you to figure out what a yes or no vote would mean,” Savickis said. “Could you honestly sit there Mr. Barnosky and say that we citizens are expected to decode the legalese in the busing referendum when your peers were unable to do it with your council 15 feet away?”

Despite community petitions for a re-vote, the board has decided not to. Though residents feel there are still other ways the district could save money on busing.

“I’ve watched my son’s bus, it passes my house about three times before it comes to pick up my son, maybe if they rework the busing they could spend less money,” said Jacqueline Monahan.