Does anyone else have a problem getting their child to Bayview in Belford. I will be moving to Belford, NJ soon and because we live 1 mile from the school, we can not get a bus. She's only 5. I would never trust her walking to school, and my mom who watches her doesn't drive.

Originally Posted by belford

Does anyone else have a problem getting their child to Bayshore in Belford. I will be moving to Belford, NJ soon and because we live 1 mile from the school, we can not get a bus. She's only 5. I would never trust her walking to school, and my mom who watches her doesn't drive.

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[LUVMYKIDS]

Hi Belford! You may have a problem getting this question answered here unless you luck out to find other parents from your community on the forum.

Although I'm not in your district, I might have some thoughts for you. My school district has a bussing policy with distance restrictions: if you don't live outside that distance, you don't get bussed. There is, however, some leeway in this restriction. If the neighborhood lacks sidewalks or the walk to school would require the students to cross heavily traveled streets or through an unsafe area then bussing arrangements are made.

Your best bet(if you haven't done so already) is to talk #1 with your principal and if you feel you're not getting any help there, then contact your superintendent's office. If the district absolutely cannot provide transportation, then you might want to contact the school and see if the principal or staff know of other parents in the neighborhood that transport their children and might be willing to help you out.

Good luck, I know I wouldn't want a 5 year old child of mine walking that far alone.

[JHB]

LuvMyKids has some good advice. Our district has a similar policy. Busing is only provided if the kids live at least 2 miles from the school or if the route is deemed hazardous according to the district's guidelines (certain traffic levels with no sidewalks, having to cross a highway, etc.)

However, with transportation costs skyrocketing, this last year they had to take a really hard look at all the "hazardous" routes, some of which had been classified years earlier. Since then, subdivisions with sidewalks and appropriate cross walks had been built, making the route no longer hazardous. Talk about tough - they were forced to declassify some areas and halt some bus routes that had been previously been provided.

I mention this only to point out, it's getting more and more impossible for the district to provide exceptions.

Your best bet is probably to find someone for her to carpool with, unless your mom wants the exercise of walking her to school. As she gets older, you may be able to find a group that walks together.