$60,000 for vo-tech education

$49,500 paid for busing student out of county

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

BY BEV McCARRON

Star-Ledger Staff

A Hunterdon County high school district is paying $60,000 -- more than it costs for a year at an Ivy League college -- to send a ninth-grader to a desired performing arts vocational-technical school in another county.

Because Hunterdon County's own vo-tech doesn't have a comparable program, the North Hunterdon-Voorhees district is required by the state to pay for the student to attend the Morris County School of Technology in Denville.

School officials were stunned when the cost came in at $49,500 a year for busing. The district said the cheapest transportation it could find was a seven-passenger school bus for $275 per day. Tuition is $10,518.

"When I saw this I couldn't believe it," said interim Business Administrator James Cardaneo. "We even had one person suggest, 'Can't we rent an apartment for this kid?' It would probably be cheaper."

The North Hunterdon-Voorhees case is extreme, but one that could become more common as the vo-tech system evolves from practical arts-based programs into career academies and magnet schools that offer specialized, sought-after programs, according to Mike Yaple, with the New Jersey School Boards Association.

"In generations past, vo-tech programs were fairly uniform from county to county. Now you're seeing some unique programs that students and parents seek out," Yaple said. "And the home district has to pay for tuition and transportation with the provision the state has approved the program. And there is no dollar limit."

Lynne Strickland, executive director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools, an organization that represents hundreds of wealthy and middle-income school districts, said the state needs to revisit the issue, given the mandate schools are under to hold the line on property taxes.

"This drives a local school district crazy," she said. "What's the check and balance on this that works for the kid and works for the taxpayers alike?"

Calling the cost intolerable for taxpayers, the district asked local legislators to cap the amount districts must pay for transportation to a vocational school program.

The average annual cost to bus a student in North Hunterdon-Voorhees district is $478. The average per-pupil tuition cost is $14,256.

"We believe that asking the taxpayers to quadruple the cost of educating one student, not based upon a special need, but a personal choice, is excessive and not fair to our constituents," said a letter from the district to Assemblyman Michael Doherty (R-Hunterdon).

Doherty and Assemblywoman Marcia Karrow (R-Hunterdon) sponsored a bill limiting the amount a district would have to pay for vo-tech transportation to the same amount set for students who go to private school, which is currently $826 per year. The bill has not been acted on yet.

Kathryn Forsyth, spokeswoman for the Department of Education, said the state statute is clear on the matter. Legal challenges to it have failed.

She cited a 1997 suit by the Pompton Lakes school board, which refused to pay for tuition and transportation for two Passaic County students to attend academies run by the Bergen County Vocational District. The district argued its own school offered the same rigorous academic program as the academies.

The state determined the students were entitled to attend the programs, and further, there should be no cost to their families.

Judy Savage, executive director of the New Jersey Council of County Vocational-Technical Schools, said she would hate to see legislation capping transportation costs, because it could close the door to programs for talented youths.

But she agreed that in this case, the busing cost was excessive, and wondered if other options were explored.

Other districts faced with having to transport students across district and county lines have been able to curb costs by teaming with neighboring districts.

Old Bridge in Middlesex County is paying $79 a day for a bus for seven students who go to the Marine Academy of Science and Technology in Sandy Hook in Monmouth, sharing the bus with neighboring Matawan-Aberdeen.

"When anyone tells you you have to transport one student, you cringe," said Denise Capasso, transportation director in Old Bridge.

But no one else from Hunterdon County attends the Morris program, said James Rogers, superintendent of the Morris County School of Technology. The full-day program offers dance, multi-media and drama and enrolls 60 students, who must apply for a spot. Local students are given priority.

For the North Hunterdon-Voorhees district, where a starting salary is $47,415, the busing cost could buy a new teacher. (The cost of a year at Harvard is about $46,000 for tuition, room and board.)

Cardaneo said his district worked all summer to find a cheaper way to get the student to Denville, which is 32 miles from Voorhees High School. He said the district is planning to send out for bids again.

Cardaneo hastened to say the district does not fault the family.

"They haven't done anything wrong. They saw an opportunity for their child, the opportunity was there, and they took it," Cardaneo aid.

Bev McCarron may be reached at bmccarron@starledger.com or at (908) 429-9925.