Noon Friday is Cutoff for School Busing Requests

Parents seeking bus transportation of their children to Assumption School in Peekskill have until noon Friday to submit applications to the Transportation Office of the Peekskill City School District, along with a letter stating that they were never notified about an April 1 deadline for such requests.

The Board of Education unanimously approved a one-time exception to the deadline after the district learned that Assumption parents were never informed about it. About two dozen parents attended a board meeting Tuesday night during which the new deadline was announced.

While the parochial school lies within district boundaries, parents seeking busing for their children are required to submit a request to the Transportation Office by April 1 of each year. Information about the deadline was sent to Assumption but for some reason was not relayed to the parents, district officials said.

“We heard what happened and unanimously agreed to help you out,” board President Joseph Urbanowicz said.

Applications in English and Spanish are in the PDFs attached to this article. Applications and letters must be returned by noon Friday, Aug. 24, to the Transportation Office in the Administration Center, 1031 Elm St. Letters may have the same text but each must be individually signed.

In a related matter, a couple of parents requested busing of their children to afterschool day care, explaining that their circumstances had changed since the April 1 deadline for requesting such transportation.

Urbanowicz replied that school officials understand and “will try to do what we can without increasing the cost” to accommodate late requests although the district is under no legal obligation to do so. He urged the parents to submit their requests to the Transportation Office but cautioned that an answer may not be available until after schools open and extra bus capacity can be accurately determined.