'We were shocked': NJ school district cancels bus service at end of school year
ABERDEEN, N.J. (PIX11) -- Scott Mazzella is one of many parents fired up at the Matawan-Aberdeen School District, which is getting rid of its subscription busing service at the end of this school year.
"We were shocked," said Mazzella. "It immediately kind of set in a little panic because we were relying on subscription busing and now it's not going to be there, so what do you do?"
The service is used by Mazzella and other parents who live close enough to their children's schools where free school buses don't typically serve. The service costs him around $1,000.
Mazella says some kids may have to end up walking to school, crossing busy highways like Route 35.
"I know in my children's case it would be a 30-minute walk to school," said Mazzella. "It's an hour a day, it's 180 hours a year."
School district officials tell PIX11 News some reasons for making the change include increased enrollment, which includes an increase in special education enrollment, as well as the homeless population, which mandates transportation.
They say approximately 400 students applied for subscription busing; they say 200 students qualified for courtesy busing due to hazardous routes, as per the policy, and the other applications were reviewed and approximately 90 students subscribed are being transported to school this year. They say their transportation department will continue to provide buses for certain students, including those who qualify due to distance from school or hazardous routes.
In the letter they sent out to parents Friday, they apologized for the inconvenience it may have caused, and they encouraged parents to look for alternatives, like carpooling or rideshare services.
Mazzella, however, says he doesn't like that idea. "We're not going to put kids in an Uber," said Mazzella. "That would be way more expensive anyway. I wouldn't do that anyway because it's not safe."
Mazzella hopes they can work something out with the Board of Education. He expects parents will be voicing their concerns at the next Board of Education meeting Thursday.