TOMS RIVER – Bus schedules for children attending North Dover Elementary School will be changing next year, officials said, to have the preschool kids and the other students arrive at the same time.
Superintendent Michael Citta said that the change in busing comes after working with the transportation department.
For the 2025-2026 school year, North Dover kindergarten through fifth grade students were on the fourth tier, attending from 9:25 a.m. to 3:35 p.m. Meanwhile, the preschoolers were on the second tier. The full day preschoolers were at the same school from 7:55 a.m. until 1:55 p.m. The a.m. preschoolers were 7:55 a.m. until 10:25 a.m. The p.m. preschoolers were 11:25 a.m. until 1:55 p.m.
Going into 2026-2027, North Dover will be moved to the second tier. All of the students, including the preschoolers who arrive in the morning, will be there at the same time, which is 7:55 a.m.
“All those kids, I’m very excited to say, will be going to school in one session in North Dover next year,” Citta said.
Official letters will be going out to parents further explaining the process, he said. Families should keep an eye out for that communication so that they can make preparations for September.
In other news, school officials were saddened by the retirements of two educators. One is Karen Homiek, the superintendent of the Ocean County Vocational-Technical School. Citta said the district has had a great relationship with the Vo-Tech and hopes to continue that in the future.
The other is science teacher Christine Girtain who was New Jersey State Teacher of the Year for 2022-2023. Board President Ashley Lamb thanked her for all her hard work providing authentic science research opportunities for students.
There will be a special Board of Education meeting on June 29 at the High School North Auditorium, 1245 Old Freehold Road. An executive session will begin at 5 p.m. dealing with personnel, negotiations, and other business. The Regular Meeting will begin at 5:15 p.m. The full agenda will be published on the district’s website at trschools.com. Many school districts hold a meeting at the very end of June after the state aid figures are made official. The meeting will be livestreamed.
