By Sunayana Prabhu
HOLMDEL – The potential elimination of courtesy busing for students took center stage at a recent township committee meeting, where board of education (BOE) officials requested increased financial support from the township to address the district’s upcoming budget gaps.
Courtesy busing provides free transportation for students who live within 2 miles of their elementary or middle school or within 2.5 miles of the high school. According to the BOE, the program impacts approximately 700 to 800 students in town at an annual cost of $600,000 to $800,000.
Under state guidelines, transportation for students within these distances is the responsibility of parents, but Holmdel Township provides and funds this service as a courtesy. However, the bus service is only for students who live and go to Holmdel public schools, the service is not guaranteed by the school district for those who go to nonpublic schools.
“What happens if courtesy busing is taken away?” resident Alessandra Mariago asked elected officials at the Tuesday, Feb. 25, township committee meeting. She inquired whether the money saved by ending courtesy busing would be put toward additional services for schools, such as adding crossing guards, installing sidewalks or implementing other measures to address safety concerns in the absence of courtesy busing.
“Clearly, the town is concerned about courtesy busing, and will you truly consider helping BOE and our budget to make sure that courtesy busing stays? It’s part of the charm of this town,” Mariago said.
Residents also voiced concerns about increased traffic and safety and environmental impacts if courtesy busing is eliminated. “We’re going to be having all these cars lining up. We’re going to have emissions,” said Karen Strickland, Holmdel Environmental Committee chair.
Many school districts across the state, including Holmdel, are struggling with rising transportation costs, primarily from increased fuel and maintenance costs, and a shortage of bus drivers.
Mayor Brian Foster acknowledged the importance of courtesy busing and said the township is willing to work with the school district to address the issue. “We’re in negotiations. We’re trying to move forward. We’re trying to help figure all of this out,” Foster said.
Township Attorney Michael Collins provided additional context, explaining the legal framework surrounding courtesy busing and the municipality’s role in the process. “Under state law, the Board of Ed has the discretion on the courtesy busing,” he said. “I really don’t think we should entertain what is hypothetical at this point. But the town would work constructively to address whatever issues there are in terms of statutory responsibility for the township.” He assured residents that the township committee has agreed to work collaboratively with the school district to address the budget challenges.
In a newsletter published Feb. 25, the BOE spoke of “mounting financial pressures,” informing parents about “difficult decisions” the school administration faces as the deadline for the 2025-26 school budget approaches at the end of March.
Those dif ficult decisions include options for courtesy busing, including eliminating the practice, implementing a subscription or paid busing model or continuing courtesy busing as is.
Other Rising Costs
Lack of financial support “will necessitate the elimination of at least 10 positions across schools and departments,” BOE officials said in the newsletter.
The Holmdel Township School District “is at a financial crossroads,” BOE president Christian DiMare said at the meeting. “The cost of running even a decent public school system has skyrocketed, yet in Holmdel, we haven’t just weathered the storm. We’ve thrived.”
While DiMare noted that Holmdel High School has catapulted from the 106th spot to the 34th spot among public high schools in New Jersey with a strong K-8 program and students consistently earning spots at the top-ranked schools in the state, “Rankings alone don’t tell the full story,” he said.
Courtesy busing is just one of the many issues related to the budgets that are a concern. Besides transportation, BOE officials have published data showing spikes in benefit expenditures that impact school budgets, while the overall school staffing has decreased significantly. The data shared by the BOE from the 2020-21 school year to the 2023-24 school year indicates that 17 positions were eliminated to help close an annual deficit of approximately $500,000. The district recently transferred employee benefits to a private carrier, which resulted in an additional $500,000 in savings.
“Until now, we have largely managed headcount reductions through attrition. However, given our current financial constraints, we must now consider the possibility of additional reductions in force. While this is not ideal, the district faces difficult decisions,” the newsletter read in part.
“We don’t want to lose teachers. We don’t want to lose programs,” Darcy Penny, resident and current president of the Parent Student Association, said during the meeting.
The school district has been exploring opportunities to meet budget demands but has no plans currently to exceed the state-imposed 2% tax levy cap on its annual budget through a special ballot measure. New Jersey law limits school districts from raising property taxes by more than 2% annually without voter approval. However, without additional funding, the rising costs “will lead to larger class sizes, reduced programs and transportation cuts,” the newsletter explains. Resident Kin Gee noted that the school district had the option to go to voters for a referendum to exceed the 2% budget cap, suggesting it is a potential avenue for addressing the district’s financial needs.
“We want (the) school to do well, but I do think that, in full disclosure, there is a little bit of a red herring,” Gee said during the meeting. “If they want to, the school district can raise whatever amount that they deem they need, and if that exceeds (a) 2% increase over the prior year, they have that option to go to the voters and residents are not stupid, so we’ll see what happens.”
Potential Revenue Streams
Several residents also discussed the township’s use of the PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) payments from Bell Works and its 55+ community. The payments have generated revenue for the municipality but have been a point of contention with the school district as they are rarely shared.
A PILOT is a financial arrangement between municipalities and developers that allows developers to make fixed payments to the municipality instead of paying traditional property taxes. PILOTs are used to incentivize redevelopment projects by giving developers a more predictable – and often lower – tax burden. The township’s budget relies significantly on PILOT revenue, which allows it to keep the tax rate stable.
Unlike traditional property tax arrangements that are typically split among the municipality, the county and the school district, PILOT payments primarily go to the municipality.
Holmdel schools typically receive approximately 68% of traditional property tax revenue but negligible amounts from the PILOT program. According to the data shared by the BOE, from 2018 through 2023, the township has received $26 million in PILOT revenue. During this time, the township contributed $180,000 toward new turf field lights and, as of the 2023-24 school year, has committed to covering the cost of the school security officers, approximately $250,000 per year.
Foster read a statement during the meeting calling attention to the township’s long-standing commitment to schools with financial and capital support that includes multiple projects: lights at the William Satz School, upgrades at the Duncan Smith Theater, and fully funding special law enforcement officers at each school in the town. Foster also told attendees about a $3.5 million grant for improvements to the Crawfords Corner Road and Long Street intersection, known as a doorway to the district’s high school and middle school, a project specifically requested by the BOE.
The BOE is currently preparing its budget which will be presented to the community at the board’s March 19 school board meeting.
The article originally appeared in the March 6 – March 12, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
