Resident urges board to reassess walking routes, proposes annual bus-seat lottery to improve student safety

A resident and district employee asked the Wayne Township Public School District board on April 23 to re-evaluate walking routes near Skyler Kofax Middle School and consider a bus-seat lottery to improve student safety. Lauren Cosgrove said her home falls just under the district’s two-mile threshold for busing and that changing traffic patterns and recent wildlife shelter-in-place events make the walk unsafe for students.

Cosgrove said the route had last been formally assessed around 2018 and described an increase in construction traffic on Jeffrey Way and more frequent wildlife encounters, including bears, that have prompted shelter-in-place alerts. "Waiting for an accident or an emergency to prompt change is not a position we should accept when proactive solutions are available," she told the board.

Cosgrove proposed an annual bus-seat lottery to allocate vacant seats on existing routes to students who live within two miles but do not currently qualify for regular transportation. She said the approach would not require eliminating or restructuring stops but would maximize existing resources at underutilized stops and provide meaningful support to families who need morning or afternoon transportation.

Board members responded that Cosgrove's suggestion offered a constructive way to address safety without extensive restructuring. A board member said the proposal was "a pretty nice solution" and that the district would look into it.

The facilities and transportation committee report earlier in the meeting flagged transportation topics the board is already tracking: the end of a solar contract on June 30, disposal of aging 2014 buses, changes to driver certification deadlines imposed by the state Department of Education (now due Aug. 15), and an ongoing review of transportation agreements. Committee members also raised broader safety concerns about motorists illegally passing school buses with red lights and stop-arms deployed and discussed the potential costs of installing stop-arm cameras to enable enforcement.

The board did not take formal action on Cosgrove’s proposal during the meeting; members said they would consider it and may return with next steps. The meeting record shows the board approved the evening’s agenda by roll call earlier in the session and adjourned after final remarks.

Next steps: The board acknowledged the suggestion and said staff will review the idea; no vote or directive was recorded on a timetable for that review.