School Buses Carrying Food, Not Students: Lakewood Board Attorney

LAKEWOOD, NJ — A school bus pulled over on Monday by authorities in Toms River was delivering meals to students, not transporting children to schools that are supposed to be closed to help fight the spread of the new coronavirus, the Lakewood school board attorney said Tuesday.

Allegations that buses are loaded with children and that one or more schools remain open — despite Gov. Phil Murphy's March 16 order closing all schools in the state, public and private — are false, said Michael Inzelbuch, the attorney for the Lakewood Board of Education. The school board oversees the busing for all of the public and nonpublic schools in Lakewood.

The Ocean County prosecutor's office, which was involved in pulling over one bus in Toms River on Monday, said the investigation into the situation is ongoing.

"This is still an active investigation," said Brian Huntenburg, spokesman for the prosecutor's office.

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Photos and videos have been circulating on social media for several days, aiming to bolster claims that schools in Lakewood have remained open the closure order amid the outbreak, which has sickened nearly 18,700 people in New Jersey, including 438 in Lakewood, according to state and county figures from Tuesday. Read more: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know

There have been 267 deaths statewide from the coronavirus, including at least 16 in Ocean County. There have been at least five rabbis from Lakewood who have died, according to multiple reports. Read more: 5 Rabbis From Lakewood Among NJ's Coronavirus Fatalities: Reports

The questions about whether schools remain open have added to anger sparked by repeated instances of weddings and gatherings in the township that have violated Murphy's stay-at-home order. There were two incidents in 24 hours from Sunday to Monday, including what New Jersey State Police Col. Patrick Callahan said was a bar mitzvah on Sunday.

But it's the buses seen circulating through Lakewood and parts of Jackson and Toms River that have been a persistent source of rumors. Photos emailed to Patch over the last 10 days have showed at least one student on a bus, but whether the buses were full could not be verified.

Inzelbuch said the buses are delivering food, part of federal funding to ensure children in needy families receive nutrition. It's a program that was set up before Murphy closed schools. Most of the public school students receive the deliveries at their bus stops in Lakewood, and there are about 75 students from Toms River who attend nonpublic schools in Lakewood and receive the meals, he said.

Inzelbuch said there have been two buses stopped; one was empty except for the driver and an aide, and the second had the driver and two of his children. Both buses were delivering food for the free and reduced lunch program, he said.

Video published by The Lakewood Scoop shows a bus with a driver, aide and two children making food deliveries in the North Dover section of Toms River on Monday.

The buses carrying food have signed attached to them to make it clear they are part of the food delivery, which is completed by one of the approved vendors, Inzelbuch said.

"If you don't see one of those signs (on a bus) you should report it to the police," he said.

He said the driver whose children were on the bus has been told that cannot continue. And he acknowledged the response by some in the community.

"We are seeing people jumping to conclusions," he said. "I understand those jumps."

But Inzelbuch also said some of the issue was harassment, though he stopped short of calling it anti-Semitism.

"We will not allow anyone to harass and intimidate" the drivers or anyone else when they are delivering food to those in need. But he reiterated the need for people to report buses that are not labeled for that project.

"In fairness, if you do not see a sign saying school food delivery you should report it," he said.

Inzelbuch said he has seen photos and clips that say they show buses traveling in Toms River and Jackson.

"They appear to be outside the area," he said, but he said the vendors are being asked to certify that they are solely delivering food.

"The police, the prosecutor, the governor, they made rules that must be followed," Inzelbuch said.

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