Lawrence, NY – School Bus Plays Favorites

Lawrence, NY – Every school day, thousands of students living in the Lawrence district board buses heading to six local public schools and 69 private ones, some as far away as Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

More than half of the 5,921 students who ride the buses attend private schools, said district Superintendent John T. Fitzsimons. State law mandates that districts provide transportation to all students, as long as their schools are within 15 miles from the student’s home.
But in a revelation that has roiled the already divided district, it turns out that for years, in violation of district policy, some 300 stops were in front of homes of private school students and that some parents were bribing drivers with gifts and cash. All the while, most public school kids have had to walk to corner stops.

The issue has been colored by the already touchy politics in the community. Orthodox Jews there, who in general do not send their children to public school, now constitute a school board majority. They have been among the sharpest district critics for years.

The issue came to a head at a recent public meeting to air out transportation concerns. Renee Freedman of Lawrence said the bus stopped in front of her house for the past 21 years, which brought hisses and groans from the public school crowd. After the meeting, she explained that her stop also served about 10 other children on her block. “It shouldn’t be considered door-to-door pickup,” she said. “It’s a convenient stop for the kids who live in that area.”
Private school parent Michelle Muehlgay of Cedarhurst, who complained of no longer having a bus stop in front of her home, said busing is a small privilege for the taxes she pays toward a school district she doesn’t use. “I pay over $10,000 in taxes,” she said, “and all I get is a little busing.”