SCHOOL BUS FIX Making it stick in Lawrence

Improving communication and seeking ways to fix transportation problems in the Lawrence School District and the private schools it serves was the focus of a meeting between district officials, yeshiva leaders and parents on Monday.

Earlier this school year, parents bombarded the district and its bus company, Inwood-based Independent Coach, with complaints — mostly concerning children not getting to school on time, getting home late and being on the bus for nearly two hours in some cases.

By adding 14 buses and changing approximately 115 pick-up/drop-off locations, commutes were made shorter and more efficient, district officials said.

Superintendent Gary Schall said some of this year’s problems developed because many parents did not adhere to the April 1 deadline for transportation registration. “We were trying to be as flexible as we could” by creating pickups not on the initial route lists, “but it came back to bite us,” he said.

Issues discussed at this week’s meeting, convened in Schall’s office, included getting signage for buses so students know which ones are theirs, hiring bus matrons, the installation of video cameras, placing information on the district website, alerting parents that substitute drivers are operating the buses, and having designated seats for the children.

“You can’t foresee every problem, but if there is another adult on the bus, that could solve some of them,” said Ilana Weinstein, a parent who was representing Yeshiva of South Shore in Woodmere, about having matrons on the school buses.

Weinstein and other parents noted the recurrence of bullying and other incidents on buses that drivers cannot attend to when they are driving.

Rivka Bohan, an administrator from Yeshiva Darchei Torah in Far Rockaway — half of the school’s 2,000 students are from the Five Towns — said the school was looking into using parents as matrons, but the number needed for its 40 buses — 240 — is “outrageous,” she said. “We are looking into cameras and video recorders [for the buses],” said Bohan, adding that live streaming could cost $12 per month.

Schall said that the district is targeting improvement through technology, including the use of cameras on buses, online transportation registration and GPS bus tracking. In addition, Lawrence will use mass emails, texts and phone calls to keep parents informed, he said.

“We will have a pilot program for cameras in place by spring and evaluate its use,” said Schall, noting that he wants to hold these meetings three times during the school year.

The district reports that its 7,500 students are serviced by 175 buses and vans making 650 daily drips involving 9,044 stops and covering 3,421 miles — greater than the distance from New York to California.

A version of this story first appeared in the Nassau Herald.