This is not new, for years parents were challenging the routes with the BOE maps. Lakewood parents were shortchanged by paying in for courtesy busing and the township paying the costs of non mandated public school children.
Matzav.com Decade-Old Errors in Busing Maps Hurt Lakewood Kids.
In recent weeks, the LSTA has arranged transportation for hundreds of additional students, and is working feverishly to provide transportation for every single remaining student. Unfortunately, however, there are still approximately 500 who lack busing, and another approximately 1,500 who lack busing one way to school.
As the LSTA continues working on the matter, it made a shocking discovery.
In order to provide the most optimal service, the LSTA recently purchased “Versatrans” software that is used for school bus route mapping. The software, which has also been used by the public school district for years, came loaded with the maps that the district has been using for its busing. While training its employees in the new software, LSTA officials discovered that the district’s maps have not been properly updated since 2004 – over twelve years ago. Some of the information on the maps is significantly older than that as well.
“This may be costing Lakewood millions of dollars, and reflects a frozen bureaucracy,” remarks Rabbi Krawiec. “You can’t believe it unless you see it. We literally have bus routes going through people’s dining rooms.”
An even bigger issue is that many new schools have opened and others have changed locations during that time period. The LSTA has identified over 55 mapping errors regarding school locations alone. Forty schools were placed on the wrong side of the street. Five schools moved locations, but were not updated in the system. Yet others had the wrong pickup and/or drop-off location on the map.
This is a major contributor to the current school busing woes.
Of particular financial importance, the LSTA estimates that there are a large number of students, likely in the thousands, who have been improperly classified as being “non-mandated” by the BOE, since the distance from their home to school was improperly calculated. It is estimated that this improper classification has shortchanged Lakewood transportation funding for non-public school students by as much as $1 million a year or more. (Non-mandated students do not receive government funding. The “aid in lieu” funding for mandated nonpublic school students is directed by the new legislation to the LSTA Read more Here at MATZAV.COM
Matzav.com Decade-Old Errors in Busing Maps Hurt Lakewood Kids.
In recent weeks, the LSTA has arranged transportation for hundreds of additional students, and is working feverishly to provide transportation for every single remaining student. Unfortunately, however, there are still approximately 500 who lack busing, and another approximately 1,500 who lack busing one way to school.
As the LSTA continues working on the matter, it made a shocking discovery.
In order to provide the most optimal service, the LSTA recently purchased “Versatrans” software that is used for school bus route mapping. The software, which has also been used by the public school district for years, came loaded with the maps that the district has been using for its busing. While training its employees in the new software, LSTA officials discovered that the district’s maps have not been properly updated since 2004 – over twelve years ago. Some of the information on the maps is significantly older than that as well.
“This may be costing Lakewood millions of dollars, and reflects a frozen bureaucracy,” remarks Rabbi Krawiec. “You can’t believe it unless you see it. We literally have bus routes going through people’s dining rooms.”
An even bigger issue is that many new schools have opened and others have changed locations during that time period. The LSTA has identified over 55 mapping errors regarding school locations alone. Forty schools were placed on the wrong side of the street. Five schools moved locations, but were not updated in the system. Yet others had the wrong pickup and/or drop-off location on the map.
This is a major contributor to the current school busing woes.
Of particular financial importance, the LSTA estimates that there are a large number of students, likely in the thousands, who have been improperly classified as being “non-mandated” by the BOE, since the distance from their home to school was improperly calculated. It is estimated that this improper classification has shortchanged Lakewood transportation funding for non-public school students by as much as $1 million a year or more. (Non-mandated students do not receive government funding. The “aid in lieu” funding for mandated nonpublic school students is directed by the new legislation to the LSTA Read more Here at MATZAV.COM
