No Free Busing for nearly 11,000 Lakewood Students

Free busing is being eliminated for about 11,000 Lakewood students, beginning this fall.

The state Thursday reportedly upheld a decision by state-appointed monitor Michael Azzara to end courtesy busing in the wake of the district's $8-million dollar budget shortfall, largely created by transportation costs, according to The Lakewood Scoop and the Asbury Park Press.

The decision impacts 8,400 private school students and 2,400 public school students. All elementary children living two miles away from school will still receive state-mandated busing, as well as all high school children two-and-a-half miles away. The other parents will be forced to find other ways of transporting their children to and from school each day.

The Asbury Park Press reports Azzara and leaders of Lakewood's private Orthodox Jewish religious schools were unable to negotiate a deal to either stagger private school start and dismissal times, or find another affordable alternative. Mandatory busing would cost the district $12.7 million for the 2015-2016 school year.

It's unknown if an appeal will be filed.