Donna Polk, who gave her address and identified herself as a parent, told the board she remains concerned about behavior and supervision on Lazar bus 15 and asked for details about three initiatives begun Sept. 11.

"We have a teacher on the bus in the morning and the afternoon to keep the disruptive children in line," Polk said, and she asked whether the bus camera footage is retained and who reviews it: "Are they being taped, or is it just they're reviewed for a week, a month, the school year? Are they being transcribed?"

Polk criticized an earlier alphabetized assigned seating arrangement that kept her son from sitting with friends and asked why disruptive students remained on the bus despite the district code of conduct: "Why is the loud talking being tolerated despite Montville's code of conduct stating otherwise on the bus?" she said.

A staff member responding for the district said the three initiatives have improved safety and that officials would continue monitoring. "We're glad that we're able to... relieve one of the safety measures and have a little bit more freedom for the students, and we'll continue to monitor the situation as we move forward," the staff member said, and added that the district's goal is eventually "to have just normal bus rides with no monitoring on the bus. But until we feel that it's totally safe, we will continue with these measures." The staff response did not specify camera retention periods, which Polk had asked about.

Polk asked the board to ensure consistent enforcement and to consider whether the district has applied consequences other than assigned seating; a district staff member said they would follow up. No formal disciplinary actions or timelines were announced at the meeting.