We are less than one month away from the start of the new school year and one district in southern New Jersey is telling families to find a different way to get to school or be prepared to pay up.
Students who live within two and two and a half miles from their schools will no longer be bussed for free in the Deptford Township School District in Gloucester County.
One mother, Leah Benton, spoke with NBC10 about why she is concerned with the news that she received on Friday, Aug. 9. Among her concerns is the lack of sidewalk in her part of the neighborhood.
"Once you pass that sidewalk, where's the safety for our children? There is none," she said. "I was told I wouldn't get a bus and I would have to pay, I think $375?"
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Deptford District superintendent Kevin Kanauss sent a two-page letter to parents saying that the district is reducing the number of bus stops and the number of children bused to and from school.
Any K through 8th graders who live within two miles of their school will have to find an alternative mode of transportation. This also goes for any high schooler who lives within two and a half miles from their school.
Families do have an option of paying $365 per student each year for a new subscription bus service.
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"That's $730 I'll have to pay for the two of [my children] with three weeks of warning," Cheryl Cliver said.
Cliver told NBC10 that she is a single mom of three kids and it's hard for her to come up with this unexpected bus expense.
Her six and nine-year-olds will no longer be on the regular free bus schedule.
"They've decided to take it away on Aug. 9. The school year is starting in less than a month," she said.
Deptford's superintendent says in the letter that the decision was financial and that the cuts save the district more than $3 million annually.
"I understand the budgetary aspect. I understand the legality of it but at the end of the day, it's the safety of the kids," Cliver said.
Cliver showed NBC10's Claudia Vargas the lack of sidewalks and the busy thoroughfare that will make it dangerous for her kids to walk to their schools.
"The district wasn't planned as a pedestrian-friendly walking district. I don't have a sidewalk on my property. No one has a sidewalk all the way down," Cliver explained.
The school district says it will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 20 at 6:30 p.m. at the Deptford Middle School Cafeteria to discuss these changes with parents and guardians.
According to the New Jersey Department of Education website, only children who live more than two miles from their K through 8 school and children who live more than two and a half miles from their high school are guaranteed a free bus ride.
