Monday, August 1, 2022

Chutzpah! LSTA Charging $260 for Courtesy Busing While Township pays for Public School children

 Struggling Lakewood families are in for a shock on short notice at the end of the school year. The LSTA (Lakewood Student Transportation Authority) has raised the price of courtesy busing by $80 from $180 to $260 per student for non mandated private school students for this coming year. The increase is due to rising costs of fuel and labor. At the same time The Lakewood Township Committee pays for the courtesy busing of the public school non mandated students (paid for by Lakewood taxpayer money.)

The timing is a bigger chutzpah as parents were given short notice about the raise with a few days to opt out otherwise they will be charged the new amount. Had this been done earlier parents could have ample time to decide and make arrangements if they wish. With this last minute push the parents are the ones left holding the bag instead of vendors taking a loss.

Although the Township Committee is not obligated to pay for courtesy busing, but once they do so for public school it would be discriminatory that they don't do the same for all private school students

This news comes at a difficult time when many Lakewood schools  are raising tuition on average of $1000 per kid for this coming year.



51 comments:

  1. Everyone should dispute the charge on the credit card no one signed off on more than $180

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  2. Agreed 100%
    Need to put our feet down and not just blame inflation! And not inform families such last notice we signed up 6 months ago!

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  3. Why is Agudah shnall not screaming about this why is he not posting videos on the scoop about this. He did the same for security funding
    Where is the outrage from the askanim and local politicians? they make noise about other people but when it is about themselves they keep hush hush. Time for a massive lawsuit against the Township for discriminating against yeshiva and private students

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    Replies
    1. The current Board of Education needs to be voted out

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  4. This is blatant discrimination. Where are the askanim where is agudah?? As it is we fund the public schools we have to fund them and pay our own????

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  5. And to top it all off, the lsta just charged my card now for last year’s bussing and the school gave me a warning that lsta will charge it again in a few days for this coming year for $260. If the didn’t charge me initial now for this past year, apparently they weren’t desperate for the funds! But I have to deal with both charges in the same month.

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  6. LSTA should open the books and show how much money is spent in salaries
    How much are they receiving in total funds?
    How much money are they paying for the bus companies?
    All contracts with vendors should be made public?
    How much they are making from servicing Jackson?
    Was this increase justified?
    Are the bus stops safe?
    Are certain schools getting preferable treatment over others

    A full independant outside audit is in order

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    Replies
    1. & are they getting bribes from bus companies?

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    2. Kanarek is somehow involved on the lsta

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  7. Almost every child going to school, even with 2 miles, should receive mandatory busses because of the danger involved. Oak street doesn't have side walks for most of it, as does Route 9. If enough fight it- they will have to cover.

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    Replies
    1. So how do we organize and fight this? Let's not just sit here and complain

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    2. Send email to the mayor and Committee https://www.lakewoodnj.gov/contact
      Ask them what right they have to take our tax money and pay for courtesy busing of public school kids yet private school kids must pay out of pocket $260 per child for courtesy busing.

      Email the BOE they are responsible for all transportation let them audit the LSTA.

      Email the Boe attorney the highest paid public official in NJ ask him to get involved he knows how to make noise

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    3. It is called hazardous busing and the town must provide a safe passage to school but the BOE is allowed to charge for it

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  8. Lsta owes parents for covid months when there was no busing yet they never gave a credit or reimbursed for those months. Where is all that money
    Did they give themselves raises while squeezing more money out of the parents?

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    Replies
    1. I think that extra covid money went to the Westgate shuls...get a life and quick

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    2. Sick comment at someone else’s expense.

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  9. reached out yesterday to a Rosh mosad about this he could care less as he is too busy with the boxes

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  10. It would seem the LSTA made this last minute decision based on the fact that many Yeshivos will be getting transportation from the Jackson School District. In the past Jackson parents paid $1500 to put their child on the leftover empty seats on the Lakewood routes to be dropped off at an existing Lakewood stop. This gave the LSTA free added income as all the empty seats on almost all Lakewood routes were sold to Jackson residents requiring no extra effort, time or manpower on the LSTA's part. This week when all the Jackson parents actually opted out of the LSTA leftover seats there was a few hundred thousand dollar loss in estimated extra profit.

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    Replies
    1. What is the problem? Gas prices have increased dramatically and so has the salaries of the bus drivers. It’s abundantly obvious that the new shortfalls needs to get covered by the parents.

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    2. Public school parents don't pay out of pocket. So shall we not pay out of pocket.

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    3. The problem is that there are other options to take before charging the parents and none of that was done. The timing is also disgusting .

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    4. The LSTA can not support the mandated parents shortfall by ripping off the non mandated parents. They are getting $1020 per mandated student if costs went up then they should ask the state for more money. It makes no sense to rip off the non mandated parents and charge another 80 dollars while keeping the same price for mandated students. Did you ever hear of Robin hood.

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    5. You've totally missed the point made earlier. These children are simply not eligible for school bussing according to the state regulation. The LSTA saw the problem and worked hard with the state legislature to get a fix. Part of the fix required that the parents chip in towards the expenses. Their portion has thus far worked out. But now that the cost of everything, including school tuition, has gone up, the old parental portion is no longer sufficient to keep this needed program going. The rate must go up for its existence to continue. No one can hide the fact that gas and salaries cost a lot more today than they did previously. There are no other options. Despite all attempts, the state is not agreeable to give more money at this point. The parents, however, can still opt out of the program and make other transportation arrangements for their children if they feel that the situation is too unfair for them.

      Parents who still feel that the situation is unfair to them can still opt out. Good luck with whatever your decision is.

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    6. Nice spin but you totaly missed the point. You make it seem like parents have an easy option to just opt out on short notice and arrange carpool. You know that is bogus as that is not realy an option. Again you missed the point, why is lakewood township paying the full parents portion of public school kids they are also not eligible.

      The LSTA can work out other options to lower costs instead of keep on ripping off parents. And please explain how the costs for mandated didn't go up how are they surviving why is it only the cost of the non mandated that went up.

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    7. I truly feel that the LSTA is a bogus way to pocket money. They are IMPOSSIBLE to deal with (my daughters stop is on a crazy dangerous intersection and they couldn’t care less) and I don’t know about everyone but we pay a lot of taxes and don’t use the schools so give us bussing and stop with the games

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  11. The price last year was 150 for next year they went up to 180 and now a second raise to 260!!, that 110 more than previous year’s

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  12. Where is Avi Schnall why is Agudah silent

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  13. Can someone please explain why we need LSTA at all?? To me it seems that there is just an extra go between along with all the salaries they add. Why cant each school open bids for bussing & small schools band together? Will save the whole LSTA corporation $$$ & give it back to the parents

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    Replies
    1. No LSTA would mean that thousands of non-mandated students will receive no transportation. The schools already banded together to create the LSTA. They will not agree to make their secretaries take on extra work to make other transportation arrangements for you.

      If you would like to, why don’t you go ahead and volunteer your time to tackle this arduous task and help your fellow parents. Good luck!

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    2. July 29, 2022 at 8:49 AM
      If there was no LSTA the school owners would have no choice...

      Delete
  14. Interesting how there is so much emotion re another 80 dollars and pretty much silence re tuition raises that are 10 times that amount - just saying

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  15. 1) Allowing the schools to put out their own bids would require NJ to pass a law allowing the reimbursement to go directly to the schools. Also the schools are probably not interested in that headache, nor do they have the manpower, software for mapping routes, and economies of scale that LSTA has.
    2) If costs went up, has the reimbursement for mandated students gone up? Shouldn't that be the starting point here?

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    Replies
    1. The only sensible comment I’ve read here is that the state’s reimbursement rate needs to go up to reflect the bidenflation we unfortunately find ourselves in.

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    2. Only sensible to you but actually
      How does that make any sense. If they can't raise the reimbursement of $1020 per mandated student why can they go charge the non mandated more to cover the shortfall of the mandated busing?
      It is called thievery.

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  16. We are living in such a dark galus where the powerful get rich off the poor by squeezing them again and again and the rich get tax breaks and abatements while the poor keep footing the bill.
    What a sick corrupt world we live in

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    Replies
    1. The rich also get 30 year tax abatements on their new buildings while the rest of us have to pay our property taxes in full, or else..

      The rich also get the township to vacate township owned land and give it to them for free for their investment projects.

      The rich also get to do land swap deals with the Committee where they give the Twp their garbage residential property (by using the right kind of appraiser to give it an inflated value) in return for taxpayer-owned very valuable commercially zoned properties.

      The rich also hire expensive attorneys to sue residents who expose this corruption and intimidate them into silence.

      But the rich don’t always win.

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    2. An anathema for them the very concept that so many people - as capable as they are but with better values- prefer to live a proper decent finer lifestyle without a dog eat dog community each checking out how to get ahead by stepping on others.. With some honor thrown in afterwards for
      Tzedakah

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    3. Would you rather the rich ones leave town? If they did, do you think the jobs would stay?

      Why do you think they get tax abatements to begin with? It's because they bring in the business that drives the (local) economy.

      Be careful what you wish for.

      As for the LSTA - should they do their work for free? They are still charging less than a dollar a day for transportation. Try doing it for cheaper.

      Or just complain. It's your life.

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    4. No-one asked LSTA to highjack the private school busing they forced all the mosdos to opt in when they formed and got their hands on 35 million dollars annually they have plenty of money just ask how much the directors and the employees are getting paid. They got extra funding what happened with all that money?

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    5. Let the rich and Lsta go we can do just fine without them. Let's see if they can make money elsewhere without taking advantage of Lakewood residents

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  17. MOISIF CHET AL PESHA !!!!!
    THIS IS OUTRIGHT DISCRIMINATION AND WE SHIULD ALL BOYCOTT THIS PAYMENT!!!!
    Enough is enough!!

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  18. @whistleblower, many frum people curse out Democrats and anyone who votes for them. However, all the policies benefitting the rich, which you mention in your post, are very much the Republican agenda. It's called the trickle down theory. Support the rich and eventually it will trickle down and benefit everyone else. Like it or not, agree or not, that's what Republicans represent.

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  19. Call Ray Coles and Menashe Miller Eisik Akerman and Meir Lichtenstein they are the ones paying for the full courtesy busing while the LSTA is bullying the schools and crushing the parents for more money while they have high salaries

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  20. Honestly, what Lakewood really needs is to start a neighborhood school system, like the public schools do. No more bussing kids across town every day.

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  21. The record in various places eg Iceland have shown (with exception of Public spirited inventor
    innovators) when the rich fulfill the threat, move out, and pull out the assets the public morale shoot up and others quickly step into fill their shoes contrary to dire
    predictions. And the middle classes are soon enough better off

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  22. Anon 1:40 pm,
    Things are starting to change.
    As the corporations continue to go woke and move to the Democrat party

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    Replies
    1. On target
      https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/other/how-bernie-sanders-and-conservatives-united-against-us-semiconductor-bill/ar-AA109kfW?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=02c6f747d92d488f82d57e17331dd141

      Delete
  23. Are the courtesy bus parents also paying a separate $250 for Sunday bussing??

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  24. I think the real question here is, why don't more parents opt out of LSTA and carpool? After all, LSTA is only for students who live within 2 miles of school -- not all that long of a car ride. Clearly, these parents would rather swallow the price than make their own arrangements.

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  25. What a stupid comment! Carpool is not a practical option for people who actually work to make a living and pay taxes so you could get your free bussing.

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