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Board approves finance items and greenlights subscription busing plan
Summary
The Edison board approved personnel, curriculum and finance packages, endorsed a subscription-bussing model (first-come, first-served portal), and heard a transportation committee update that cited an estimated $185,000 per new bus and possible in-house strategies to lower costs.
The Edison Township Board of Education voted unanimously to approve personnel, curriculum/instruction and finance agenda items at the June meeting, moving forward several routine and operational items including a subscription-bussing program and change orders on district cooling projects.
President Vishal Patel called the votes after motions and seconding; roll-call tallies recorded affirmative votes from the members present and each motion "carried," according to the meeting transcript.
On transportation, committee chair Ralph Errico reported the panel reviewed options to set subscription-bussing fees so the program is self-sustaining and considered purchasing or leasing buses versus expanding in-house transportation using district drivers. Errico said the committee expects subscription routes and riders to be reduced compared with prior years and discussed field-trip transportation funding, which could fall to school building budgets, PTO fundraising or direct parent contributions.
Errico reported the district recently bought two 24-passenger buses and a wheelchair-accessible van and said the estimated cost of a new school bus is "approximately $185,000 per vehicle." He described strategies to reduce long-term maintenance costs, including hiring an additional certified mechanic, purchasing parts through cooperative contracts and pursuing shared-service agreements with neighboring districts.
Administration told the board the subscription-bussing portal would open "most likely on Monday, the 29th," remain open through July on a first-come, first-served basis and that rates would be tied to route costs. The board approved the finance section, which included bills, minimum prices for fiscal 2027, tuition rates, cooperative contracts and change orders for a district-wide AC project.
The approvals were procedural votes recorded by roll call; the board did not alter policy language during the meeting and no final long-term procurement was announced on the record.
