Parents urge board to keep W9 courtesy bus, citing hazardous Glenn Avenue; administration to review routes

Dozens of Ridgewood parents and neighbors urged the Board of Education on May 4 to preserve courtesy busing for the W9 route — which serves parts of the Undercliff/Willard neighborhood — saying that children face hazardous walking conditions if the district converts the route to a paid subscription model.

"Glenn Avenue is clearly a hazard and our children cannot be expected to take this route to school," said parent Matt Misella during the public‑comment period, describing two required crossings of a high‑volume road and an active railroad crossing. Multiple speakers described high traffic speeds, poor or missing sidewalks and near‑miss incidents at the Oak/Glenn intersection.

Speakers framed the proposed change not merely as a budget item but as a safety and equity issue. "A single pedestrian accident on a known hazardous route far outweighs any budgetary savings that you may have," said another resident, urging the board to retain free busing rather than require families to pay subscription fees of the scale discussed in the presentation.

Administration acknowledged those concerns on the record. Superintendent Dr. Troy Schwarz said the district would re‑examine its hazardous‑route determinations and coordinate with the village and police department on crossing‑guard options and sidewalk projects before implementing bus changes. "We've heard about courtesy busing in general ... particularly the concerns about those specific routes that people are very concerned about being hazardous," Dr. Schwarz said, promising further review.

The presentation that preceded the public comment proposed converting some courtesy routes to subscription service as a revenue option; administration estimated potential revenue if fully subscribed at about $539,000 but admitted the option would be costly for families and could lead to route cancellations where enrollment is low. Several parents said subscription pricing — which administrators described as potentially thousands of dollars per family per year for multiple children — would effectively create a pay‑for‑safety system.

Next steps: Officials said route prioritization is not final and that any determination about hazardous status and transportation provision will be revisited and communicated to affected families in advance of fall. The board approved the district budget at the same meeting but committed to committee‑level follow up on transportation and to ongoing conversations with municipal authorities about crossing guards and traffic enforcement.