The School Board is between a rock and a hard place. They have important needs to satisfy - the education of our children (mine are long gone from THS) - while Teaneck's tax base/wealth has stagnated. Under these conditions, fairness and realism is required by all bargaining units. Will union bargaining positions be reasonable or excessive? Can outsourcing, staff cutbacks, reductions in service be avoided? The Board can't do it alone. The bargaining units must cooperate. To use another rock analogy, you can't get blood from a stone.

Will outsourced personnel get the same background checks, physicals and 10-month loyalty contract to the child(ren).
Or will they be potential murderers, incapable of evacuating a special needs child from a school bus (or even putting on a seat-belt) or turnover as soon as they figured out the best way for the child to learn?
You think this is science fiction or even made-up? Check your neighboring cities!

I have been thinking about this courtesy busing change. From .9 to 1.3 miles. It seems that this would unfairly affect only a specific set of people -- parents in Teaneck who send their children to public schools. Sure, we can rail against the notion of courtesy busing all we want, but it exists. And if a change is made in it which forces a small child to walk 1.29 miles to 2nd grade everyday because his parents want to live where they live in Teaneck and use our public schools, I think that something is wrong.

This change would not affect most private school parents (there are 2 Jewish schools but they are High Schools and having a student walk that distance at that age is not as troubling to me). I know this is unintentional but it seems that a "solution" which hurts only one part of the community is not a solution for all of Teaneck.

"Eliminating the two administrative positions would save $205,000, either through retirements or other cuts, Finger said. Upping the requirement for busing students from 0.9 to 1.3 miles is projected to save $100,000."

Cost of administrative position = $102,500 (that's a nicely paid administrator, btw)
Cost of busing for thousands of students = $100,000

For the cost of one more administrative employee (i.e. NOT A TEACHER), the school can keep courtesy busing for all of these students?

In all seriousness, why are having this issue come up AGAIN?

Here we go again, re: the busing debate. Let's wait and see what happens.

Didn't Englewood just approve outsourcing their paraprofessionals? I wonder how that's working out.

i dont think the bus cuts are THAT big a problem... dont other towns not provide the same busing that Teaneck does?? They have to cut somewhere. And yes also cut those admin jobs.

I was bused across town for elementary school even though there was a school in walking distance which made no sense to my parents and I walked to middle school and high school It's time to stop wasting money and rethink busing.

These are tough times and if cuts are necessary then everything should be on the table including staff and busing.

That busing was to help school integration. which is ancient history now!

Busing is only required for distances.. Teaneck offers "courtesy" bus for students. THey should cut that. I think the para-professionals are moree important. OUtsourcing will cause many problems.

The elementary schools are neighborhood schools for a reason. NO elementary school student needs to be bused to school in their own neighborhood. How come there are so many more buses, administrators, paraprofessionals, and other "Dr." types in our schools than we had many years ago, and the level of education and achievement has fallen so much?? We graduated from THS in 1967 with 1 principal, 2 vice principals, one coach per athletic team, no athletic trainers and no school buses. The sole mandatory necessities in schools are students and teachers. Everything and everybody else is support staff.

Time to start spending wisely. High School students in Teaneck never used to need school buses. Neighborhood elementary school students don't need buses. We all walked to Bryant School from the northeast corner of Teaneck twice a day...we went home for lunch...and didn't suffer from the strain of all of that exercise. And by ninth grade we were all walking to Ben Franklin when it was a Jr. High., and walking home after practice. We've gotten too soft.

By reading the comments I am reminded that walking to school can be an organized activity using at least one adult - maybe a parent. Walking to school is great exercise and a good time to socialize as long as street crossings are carefully handled. It is an opportunity to give kids useful exercise and build some skills. Check the NYC Dept of Education to see how they handle it and what the results are.

Art i agree. Whats the big deal with walking? What does NYC dept of education do? can you post a link? dont students take mass transportation in new york? i see no problem with walking.. we have to cut something and buses seem AND administration seem least important to education.

I can see most of the cuts but busing. My 1 son went to BF and he had to walk, then when he went to THS him and his brother and other kids on our street had to walk also. It's not very far but in the rain, snow, sleet etc. It was more of a safety issue. It's not a far walk but far enough to take a bus. I can't see kids in kindergarten and 1st graders that should have to walk to school.

The solution is very simple... just look at where the Teaneck teacher, administrators and support staff rand with respect to all other districts in NJ. Bring their compensation towards the median level and not near the highest, and we would all be very happy with the budget..

@Teaneck Citizen: You are so darn right about this issue...... no one seem to realize that the salaries in Teaneck are way out of touch with the performance of these teachers and in comparison with their peers.
They have made the citizens busy with these small issues while hiding the real reason they have to raise our taxes every year......

And God forbid we ever discuss the options of shared service model with other towns. The union dismiss this and do everything in their power to make it look like a bad decision and inefficient option. This is because of the need for efficiencient and smart working, and not just more bodies for the task. Shared Services seem to work well in private sector but seem to be a taboo topic in the public sector. Many of the labor contracts have punative clauses imbedded for cutting jobs, which is the whole reason why there are no efficiencies to be gained. This whole collective labor model has to be changed to adapt to current times, every one else has.

The $99,845.increase in state aid represents only one component of the state's financial support for the school district. "Extraordinary aid" has been reduced by $245,053. The NJ Schools Development Authority assessment (deducted from state aid payments) increase by $80,360. The net is considerably less NJ state funding of the school district rather than an increase.

It's a difficult and sad state of affairs to consider cutting education and bussing services. To me it points rather to the greater need of municipal government here to find ways to stimulate business growth and create more revenue to support these services. Teaneck is a hub location, near the 80, the turnpike, and the 4. The city is not making an effective effort to promote and protect business growth. Do that better, and we can stop bemoaning cuts in valuable education services.

Seriously, walking your kid to school isn't going to kill you.

However, several other posters have noticed that there are no Jewish schools in Teaneck other than High Schools.

For some reason, (that is beyond me) Jewish Elementary Schools have embraced car culture so much that they have purchased vacant office parks on high-speed roads in Paramus rather that build schools in the neighborhoods where their students live.

I for one, would love to see a Yeshiva in the soon to go-out-of-business World of Wings center, near the intersection of West Englewood Ave & Sussex Road and more schools in what seems to be the Jewish education district Where Torah Academy of Bergen County and Mayanot High School for Girls is located.

To address JAMES_TS and Art Vatsky, I think the school district should provide every student with a Bus Pass for local rides to and from school.

Teaneck should redistrict students so they are closer to their schools and that would cut costs on distances of trips, time students spend on the bus and number of students who need to walk to school. I am less than .25 miles to a elementary and middle school. yet am districted for neither.

Busing is such a small chunk to the budget. To consolidate bus stops has already caused enough outcry. Who wants 20 students standing on their lawn waiting for a bus, not to mention the time traffic must stop to board that many students.

We should be thankful so many students in the district go to private school Think of the cost savings to our system and the tax dollars they funnel. To save one tenth of 1 percent and cut back on the one benefit these taxpayers have is silly.

We need to cut where it will make the biggest difference. And what happened to the money that was set aside for the charter school that never happened? The district spent it, because the fear if we don't spend all our budgeted money, then we will lose it next year. Where are the electrical savings we are expecting to get from the newly installed solar panels? Where is all the money going?

Where does all the money go, you ask? Did you know that NJ receives more funding for school aid then any other state in the Union?
Watch the documentary The Cartel made by Bob Bowdon, and you will find out why and where your money goes.
There is plenty of money, it just isn't going to your kids. substitutes make very little, live near by and go beyond what they are required to do. I know, I have been a sub for 7 years and I am fully dedicated to our children, and to see that the job is done for the teachers for the sake of the children. I am trusted and asked for by principles in the district. For this I receive no benefits, no pay if I am not called, but I knew this going into the job, wanting to become a teacher myself. So if outsourced what kind of people would sub. I was told by an aid that we would all be laid off and interviewed by a company that would offer us maybe 10.00 per hour.
Really? Educated people who are either unemployed teachers, those wishing to become teachers, or retired teachers. We are not making much more then that. So I repeat who, and what kind of person would work for 10.00 per hr. 1 dollar over the president's 9 dollars proposal for minimum wage, with our kids. Where would they come from, and how much would they care? I have spoken to subs, upon hearing this said they would not come back. And neither will I. I love what I do, the children, the teachers, the work is a very hard labor of love, but my family has to eat to.