Parents press Rockaway board over chronic bus delays; administrators cite driver shortage and tiered routes

Parents told the Rockaway Township Board of Education that persistent school‑bus unreliability is disrupting families and creating safety concerns, and asked the district for a specific stabilization plan and a real‑time notification system for delays.

"Reliable transportation is not a luxury. It's, in fact, a fundamental part of the educational mandate," said parent Janelle Lauterback during the board’s public‑comment period, describing morning instability, afternoon drop‑off variance of as much as 30 minutes and a lack of timely updates to families.

Jason Stebrenos, another parent, said his daughter has an individualized education program and that transportation inconsistency undermines the preparation and supports that IEPs require. He asked the board for transparency about recruitment and training incentives for new drivers and suggested some neighboring jurisdictions pay trainees during CDL training.

In response, the district’s business administrator acknowledged the problem and described ongoing steps to address it. The administrator said the district has been actively recruiting and has five new bus aides on the night’s agenda who are in training to become drivers; the administrator also flagged pending retirements that temper near‑term gains. The district said it is currently using a tiered route system in which one driver covers multiple staggered branches and therefore a delay at an earlier branch can cascade to later stops.

"We are not unaware of the issues that occur," the business administrator said, adding that some delays earlier in the year were the result of a failure in communication and were acknowledged directly with impacted families. The administrator also named Ross Bond as the supervisor of transportation and described mechanics and transportation office staff occasionally filling routes when needed because they hold CDLs.

Board members and administrators cited external causes — traffic accidents, bus breakdowns and other disruptions — that can magnify timing problems on tiered routes. Parents asked for a concrete plan for Route 83 and an automated notification threshold; the parents proposed notifications when delays exceed 10 minutes. Administrators did not commit on‑the‑spot to a specific vendor or software but said they would continue recruitment, training and communication improvements and will provide follow‑up information to families.

The board accepted the public comments as part of the meeting record; no immediate binding policy change or emergency appropriation was made that night. Several board members and district staff said they would continue outreach to affected families and report progress at subsequent meetings.