Lacey School District's Transportation System Ranked Sixth In State, First in Ocean

Lacey Township’s School District has been ranked first in the county and sixth in the state for transportation efficiency.

The state’s rating is based on how efficiently schools are utilizing their seats, said Sue Lynch, transportation supervisor for the school district.

While the state looks for a rating of at least 1.20, Lacey’s rating was 3.06.

Lacey Township utilizes 32 buses with 54 seats. With a total of 1,550 seats, Lacey Township transports 4,700 students. The state assessed useage at 90 percent.

Lynch credits the school district’s six-tier system. Each of Lacey’s six schools operate on a different schedule.

With the beginning at 6:55 a.m. and ending at 1:35 p.m., and starting at 9:15 a.m. and ending at 3:45 p.m., the school district is able to save money and use less busses.

“That’s quite a spread, which enables our school buses to do more and be more efficient,” Lynch said.

If the buses ran on the same schedule, the school district would need 120 buses, Lynch said.

Most schools only have three to four tiers, Lynch said. Since Central Regional only has a high school and middle school, the school district is limited.

The state’s rating also does not take into account extracurricular activities.

“That’s all done over and above what we’re able to do bringing kids to and from school. And there’s hundreds of thousands of miles in trips,” Lynch said.