Exception to Northport busing requirement could set precedent

Parent outside mileage limit wants district to bus daughter to Kings Park

By Matt CalamiaWrite The Author


Tim Farrell wants the school board to make an exception since his family lives only a fraction outside the mileage limit for which the school district must provide transportation. Photo by Matt Calamia
Times of Northport
September 15, 2011 | 09:32 AM
The Northport-East Northport school board on Monday tabled a proposed agreement between its district and Kings Park schools to transport a student from Northport to and from the Stony Brook School.

Superintendent Marylou McDermott said she contacted Kings Park Superintendent Susan Agruso and an agreement was drafted to bus the student from Northport to Kings Park on Pulaski Road in the morning and back again in the afternoon.

Kings Park buses would transport the Northport girl to and from Stony Brook along with another student from the Kings Park district.

Northport-East Northport Assistant Superintendent for Business Kathleen Molander said such an arrangement would cost the district $9,384, which would be paid to Kings Park schools. Molander said there is money in the budget to support the agreement. If Northport were to bus the student independently to and from Stony Brook, it would cost over $18,000 plus extra for any late buses the child might require.

Under state law, if the student lives within 15 miles of his or her school of choice, his or her public school must supply transportation for the student. In this case, the student lives just over that mileage limit — at 15.4 miles from the Stony Brook private school — meaning Northport-East Northport is not required to transport the child.

At a board meeting in August, the student's father, Tim Farrell, suggested that the board make an exception and provide transportation for a student outside the mileage limit. The board was hesitant to agree to that, though, because it would set precedent for other students living just outside the boundaries.

This week, several board members expressed their desire to make the agreement work and allow the student to be transported to and from Kings Park.

Board President Steve Waldenburg said, "The [existing] policy is written in an attempt to be fair both to the individuals and also to the community and the taxpayers and not burden the district too heavily, but this might be a suitable compromise."

Trustee Jennifer Thompson also supports the agreement, saying it's the board's responsibility to help its students get the best education they can, whether in Northport or not. "The core [of the BOE] is how we serve our students," Thompson said. She added that approving the agreement serves both the child and the community.

Other board members also expressed a desire to help the Farrell family but some hesitated to approve the agreement.

Vice President Donna McNaughton said it isn't fair to make an exception for one student when others in the past have been denied, although she is open to hearing more information about the potential agreement. She commended Farrell's determination to give his daughter the best opportunity possible.

Trustee Tammie Topel indicated the board should do whatever it can to help this student get the best education she can. She said by law, all schools must make accommodations for special education students to get the best education they can. The same should be done for students on the other end of the spectrum who are gifted, Topel said.

Waldenburg responded that the board doesn't have a measure of whether a student is gifted, however, and added that just because a family wants to send their child to an out-of-district school doesn't mean the district must accommodate that.

The board ultimately decided not to vote on the agreement until it could gather more details — on whether it's multiyear deal and on the cost of late buses — which Farrell agreed with. However, he added that if his family had lived within 15 miles from the Stony Brook School, the district would have been required to pay the full $18,000.

Waldenburg said the financial information will be known by the next board meeting, which is planned for Monday, Sept. 26, starting at 7:30 pm in the Brosnan school.



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Re: Exception to Northport busing requirement could set precedent

Since he's "only" .4 miles beyond the limit, why don't they just make the limit 14 miles, then he's about 1.4 miles beyond the limit, so he's no longer "just outside" the limit.....

If they make a precedent for him, they will have to bus everyone. "I'm 15.8 miles, but that's only .4 miles beyond where he is, and you made .4 mile exception for HIM...."

"Hey, I'm only .4 miles past those other kids who are getting bussed at 15.8 miles, what about me?"

Re: Exception to Northport busing requirement could set precedent

Slippery slope and something tells me they are going to regret caving.

I wondered why so many board members changed their mind?? Does the father have some kind of power in the district??

Re: Exception to Northport busing requirement could set precedent

Re: Exception to Northport busing requirement could set precedent

Sounds like someone's pockets are getting lined, somehow.

I grew up in Northport and my parents still live there. If there is a more corrupt town on LI, I can't imagine it.