Metuchen parent asks board to request additional stop on Woodbridge Academy bus route

A Metuchen parent asked the Board of Education on Sept. 30 to seek an additional bus stop on the Woodbridge Academy route after his son was assigned a stop farther from home.

Tom Itkuri, introduced himself as a 12-year Metuchen resident and asked the board to request a stop near the Egert and Amboy intersection so his son need not walk about two miles each way to the assigned pick-up. ‘‘All I’m requesting is if you look at the map there, you know, 1 mile from where he's taking the current bus, 1 mile from there, Egert and Amboy is 1 mile away from Brunswick,’’ Itkuri said, adding that he was not seeking a special deviation but a stop on the bus’s existing route.

District staff member Mr. Harvey responded that adding stops ‘‘would cost more money’’ and that the transportation commission or the contracted bus company had raised similar concerns; Harvey said the district could ask the commission again but expected a similar answer. The board president agreed it was appropriate to take another look and said the district would follow up and communicate what it learns.

Why it matters: Student transportation decisions involve multiple entities (district administration, county transportation/commission and vendors) and affect students’ daily commute time and safety. Parents and guardians may seek adjustments when routing places undue burdens on students.

Next steps: District staff said they will contact the commission again and update the parent on its findings; no formal board motion or vote was recorded on the request during the meeting.