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More families might choose St. Augustine's School in Troy if their public school districts provided adequate transportation, said Jim Clement, principal there.

New York State law requires school districts to transport all students in grades Kindergarten through 12, including those attending non-public schools and charter schools, up to a maximum distance of 15 miles.

City districts are exempt; if they do choose to provide transportation, they must do so for both public and non-public students residing in the district. Districts within the city of Troy opt in, but most St. Augustine students hail from districts farther away.

Albany Assemblyman Jack McEneny wants to reform and expand transportation for all students statewide, and he has the support of both the diocesan school board and the New York State Catholic Conference.

The bill would require all New York State districts to bus students. It would also increase the distance limits from 15 to 25 miles. (Districts typically do not transport students who live within a minimum distance of a mile or so.)

In the 10 years during which Assemblyman McEneny has lobbied for the proposed legislation, the bill hasn't earned the consideration of a committee. He hopes this year might be different, since he is soliciting new and renewed sponsorship.

"There will be resistance because of increased cost," the assemblyman admitted, referring to higher taxes. But "there should be equal treatment. And there is a tremendous desire for school choice."

Assemblyman McEneny views the city busing exemption as an "anti-city provision. "I think it drives middle-class families out of the city," he said. "School choice stabilizes urban communities. When you take it away, some people move out."

Jim Cultrara, director for education at the Catholic Confer-ence, agreed, adding that when families leave cities, the tax burden falls on fewer and fewer families.

Echoing the argument of other school choice proponents, Mr. Cultrara said that offering opportunities for children to attend private schools relieves the burden for public districts.

"We have no choice but to continue to remind legislators that they owe their constituents," Mr. Cultrara told The Evangelist. "It's a matter of justice and fairness to those children - and, frankly, it makes financial sense to do so."

For now, the Diocese resorts to creativity when faced with busing problems.

When St. Patrick's School in Catskill closed in 2007, for example, some students transferred to St. Thomas the Apostle School in Delmar or Holy Spirit School in East Greenbush - both more than 30 miles north of Catskill.

Since then, the school board has chartered buses to those schools through a fund supported by parishes without schools, said Sister Jane Herb, IHM, diocesan superintendent of schools.

If public districts stepped in, this money could be used for tuition assistance, she added. But the school board's solution does the trick for Holy Spirit School, where more than 26 students hail from the Catskill area and ride what they call the "Hudson bus."

(01/13/11) [[In-content Ad]]

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