Decision No. 14,306
Appeal of KEVIN A. MOSS from action of the Board of Education of the Schalmont Central School District and Superintendent Jeffrey H. McClellan regarding transportation.
Decision No. 14,306
(February 15, 2000)
Ferrara, Fiorenza, Larrison, Barrett & Reitz, P.C., attorneys for respondents, Marc H. Reitz and Norman H. Gross, Esqs., of counsel
MILLS, Commissioner.--Petitioner appeals the manner by which his sons are transported to a private school by the Schalmont Central School District. The appeal must be dismissed.
Petitioner resides in the Schalmont Central School District within 15 miles of Christian Brothers Academy ("CBA"), a nonpublic school outside the district that his twin 11-year-old sons attend. Classes at CBA begin at 7:55 a.m., but students are requested to arrive by 7:45 a.m. On all but one occasion between September 9 and September 24, 1999, petitioner’s sons were picked up at their home and transported to the Schalmont Central High School where they transferred to another bus headed to CBA. According to petitioner, these trips took approximately 1" hours and resulted in his sons arriving at CBA between 7:54 a.m. and 8:15 a.m. This appeal ensued.
Petitioner seeks direct transportation of his sons from his residence to CBA without transfer at a centralized pick-up point, timely transportation to CBA, and the costs of this proceeding. Respondents assert that the appeal is moot.
The appeal must be dismissed. The Commissioner of Education only decides matters in actual controversy and will not render a decision on a state of facts which no longer exists or which subsequent events have laid to rest (Appeal of Debbie L., 39 Ed Dept Rep ___, Decision No. 14,294; Appeal of Kainz, 38 id. 339, Decision No. 14,049; Appeal of Studley, 38 id. 258, Decision No. 14,028). The record reveals that on September 27, 1999, the district entered into a contract with Brown Transportation which provided transportation from petitioner’s home to CBA in a timely fashion from September 27 to October 15, 1999. The district entered into a second contract for the period October 15, 1999 through June 23, 2000 to provide the same transportation. Since respondent has provided petitioner with the relief he seeks, the appeal is moot and must be dismissed.
Petitioner’s request for reimbursement of the costs of bringing this appeal must be denied. The Commissioner of Education lacks authority to award such costs in an appeal under Education Law "310 (Appeal of Soukey, 38 Ed Dept Rep 626, Decision No. 14,106).
THE APPEAL IS DISMISSED.
END OF FILE