LAKEWOOD SHOCK: Non-Mandated Busing Cost Jumps From $385 To $945 After State Funding Cuts

Lakewood families are facing a staggering increase in transportation costs for the upcoming school year, with the Lakewood Student Transportation Authority (LSTA) informing schools and parents that the cost of non-mandated busing will jump from $385 to $945 per child.

But questions are now emerging over exactly what funding was eliminated — and who had previously benefited from it.

Contrary to an earlier understanding of the announcement, Lakewood Township has not historically subsidized the cost of non-mandated LSTA transportation for nonpublic-school families.

Rather, Township funding had been used to provide so-called courtesy busing for Lakewood public-school students who lived within the distance limits that would otherwise make them ineligible for state-mandated transportation.

Those public-school students were reportedly receiving that courtesy transportation at no direct cost to their families.

With that Township funding no longer available, the new LSTA fee structure is raising serious questions over whether the financial impact of maintaining the broader transportation system is now being shifted onto nonpublic-school families.

LSTA informed families Thursday that non-mandated transportation for the 2026-27 school year will cost $945 per child, up sharply from the previously announced $385.

Non-mandated students are generally elementary-school children who live two miles or less from their school, or high-school students who live 2.5 miles or less away.

According to LSTA, the actual cost of providing a seat can reach as high as $1,177, though the authority said efficiencies within Lakewood’s transportation network allowed it to reduce the parent charge to $945.

Families who already paid $385 will have that payment credited toward the new cost, leaving an additional balance of $560 per child.

For families with several children requiring transportation, that can mean thousands of dollars in unexpected additional expenses just days before the school year begins.

The development is also fueling major questions over how Lakewood’s transportation system is funded.

If public-school students previously received courtesy busing at no direct cost to their families because Township money covered that service, residents deserve a clear explanation of what happens now that the funding is gone.

More importantly, families deserve to know whether the loss of funding for public-school courtesy transportation is playing a role in the dramatic increase now being imposed on nonpublic-school families.

That distinction is critical.

Lakewood Township has not simply been subsidizing transportation for all non-mandated students across the community. The funding structure appears to have treated public-school courtesy transportation differently, with those families receiving transportation without having to pay the type of per-child charge now being imposed on nonpublic-school families.

That is likely to intensify frustration among Lakewood parents already struggling with tuition and rapidly increasing school-related expenses.

Families are increasingly being asked to pay separately for transportation, lunches and other services, while tuition and the overall cost of raising a family continue to rise.

Another $560 per child is not a minor increase.

A family with four affected children, for example, would suddenly face an additional $2,240 transportation bill.

The increase is also raising broader questions about accountability at LSTA and within Lakewood’s overall transportation structure.

For years, families have dealt with transportation complaints involving routes, delays, capacity and other service issues while the amount of money required to operate the system continues to grow.

At some point, residents are entitled to ask whether the existing system is sustainable.

If LSTA cannot provide reliable transportation at a cost that families and taxpayers can reasonably afford, Township officials and transportation leaders should be looking at every possible alternative — including restructuring the system, changing leadership or finding another way to provide the service.

Residents also deserve complete transparency regarding how the transportation system is funded, how much money comes from each government source, how public-school courtesy transportation is financed, what nonpublic-school transportation actually costs and how the loss of one funding source affects families in another part of the system.

Simply telling families that they must pay dramatically more is not enough.

As of Thursday afternoon, Lakewood Alerts had seen no public statement from Lakewood Township officials fully explaining the situation or addressing the sudden increase.

That silence leaves major unanswered questions.

When did Township officials know the courtesy-busing funding would no longer be available?

How much had the Township been spending on public-school courtesy transportation?

Were public-school families previously paying anything toward those buses?

How does the elimination of that funding affect LSTA’s overall transportation contracts?

And most importantly, why are nonpublic-school families now being asked to pay $945 per child?

Parents who want their children to remain on the bus must log into the LSTA family portal and opt in by Monday, August 24, at 11:00 p.m.

Families who already paid $385 will receive credit for that payment, while those who opt out will receive a refund.

LSTA said the short deadline is necessary to allow routes to be reorganized, transportation contracts to be finalized and vendors to prepare for the start of service on September 1.

But for thousands of Lakewood families, the bigger issue is no longer simply the size of the increase.

It is understanding who had been paying for what, why that funding disappeared, and whether the financial burden of one part of Lakewood’s transportation system is now being placed on families in another.