Recent changes in our district's transportation policy have compromised the safety of students. Cost-saving measures have centralized bus stops across our communities, yet fail to address how children are to reach these stops safely. Situations like ours—unsafe road conditions without sidewalks or safe crossing areas—are all too common. Sadly, many families in Colts Neck, Englishtown, Farmingdale, Freehold Borough, and surrounding areas face similar hazards without any assessment or adjustments. We cannot stand by while our children's safety is at risk. One accident or injury is one too many.

We, the undersigned parents, guardians, students, and concerned community members of the Freehold Regional High School District, are calling for immediate action regarding unsafe transportation and walking conditions currently affecting students across our eight sending communities: Colts Neck, Englishtown, Farmingdale, Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Howell, Manalapan, and Marlboro.

Our Children Deserve a Safe Way to Get to and from School

The safety of our children should not be sacrificed for budgeting purposes. We urge the Freehold Regional High School District Board to reconsider their transportation strategy. This includes conducting thorough hazard assessments at each bus stop and implementing appropriate safety measures. Prioritizing safe pathways and protective infrastructure, like sidewalks and warning signs, is imperative.

Getting to school safely should never be a risk a child has to take. Families should not be forced to choose between unsafe transportation conditions, hazardous walking routes, or personally transporting their children every day when a reasonable transportation solution should already be in place.

Our concerns include bus stop placements and walking routes that expose students to roads without sidewalks or shoulders, dangerous intersections, high-speed and high-traffic roads, blind curves, poor visibility, drop-offs, and locations where there is no safe place for a parent to even wait with their child.

Under New Jersey law (N.J.S.A. 18A:39-1.5), districts that provide courtesy busing are required to adopt a policy addressing hazardous walking routes, including a published list of hazardous routes and the criteria used to designate them, based on factors such as traffic volume, vehicle speed, and the presence or absence of sidewalks. FRHSD's current Regulation 8600 does not appear to include this required hazardous route criteria or list — it addresses only insurance and general routing economy. Many of this year's newly consolidated stops do not appear to meet the state's safety standard.

High school students may be older, but they are still children, and their safety must remain a priority — not an afterthought in the name of routing efficiency.

We Are Asking for Immediate Action

We respectfully call upon the Freehold Regional High School District, its Board of Education, the Transportation Department, and appropriate municipal authorities to:

1. Conduct an immediate, documented hazardous route review — in coordination with local police departments, as required by state law — of all newly assigned stops and walking routes.
2. Identify roads, intersections, and locations lacking sidewalks, adequate lighting, or safe waiting areas for students.
3. Publish the hazardous route criteria and designated list of hazardous routes required under N.J.S.A. 18A:39-1.5, which does not currently appear in Regulation 8600.
4. Reassess bus routes and stop placements to ensure they meet the district's own "shortest and safest walk" standard under Policy/Regulation 8600.
5. Provide safe, reasonable transportation for any student whose assigned stop or walking route poses a documented safety hazard.
6. Establish a clear, responsive process for parents to report transportation hazards and receive a timely written response — not a form response after the fact.
7. Communicate publicly and directly with affected families about what corrective steps will be taken and by when.

This Is About Safety, Not Convenience

It is about preventing an avoidable tragedy.

Parents should be able to send their children to school knowing that reasonable, legally required safety measures have actually been applied to their route — not assumed away by a routing algorithm.

We urge the Freehold Regional High School District and its Board of Education to listen to affected families, evaluate the real, on-the-ground conditions students face, and act before a preventable injury forces the issue instead.

By signing below, we are asking our school and community leaders to make safe transportation for our students a real priority — now, not after something happens.

This petition is not just about our individual concerns; it’s about ensuring the welfare of all children. Every student deserves a safe journey to and from school. Join our call for change and sign this petition to demand the Freehold Regional High School District creates safer, more reliable transportation solutions for our kids.