Parents and a former trustee press Bayonne board on bus routing and out-of-district enrollment

Transportation and enrollment policy drew sustained attention at the Bayonne Board of Education’s Feb. 25 meeting.

Parent Matt Basier presented GPS screenshots showing his autistic daughter’s afternoon bus routing frequently taking her into Jersey City — sometimes as far as near the Liberty Science Center — turning typical local routes into rides that could last multiple hours. Basier said his daughter once arrived home nearly two hours late and that he has begun using and distributing GPS devices to monitor routes. “I want Amy home no later than 3 p.m.,” Basier said.

Christopher Munz, a former board member, urged a district-wide re-registration to identify out-of-district students he said are attending Bayonne schools. Citing a business-administrator figure, Munz said the current per-pupil cost was $20,120 and estimated that identifying 50 students could save more than $1 million and 100 students about $2 million. Administrators in the room told Munz that staff who have run similar re-registration processes in other districts would undertake the work in Bayonne this summer.

Why it matters: Parents raised safety and special-education concerns tied to long bus rides; a re-registration initiative could change enrollment counts, budget projections and program eligibility if out-of-district attendance is found to be material.

What’s next: Administrators said they plan to implement re-registration over the summer and will provide more details; no board vote on policy changes occurred at the meeting.