At 7:05 this morning, a yellow school minibus will stop on Brightview Drive in Whitehall to take 14-year-old Lauren Haberman to her first day of high school.

Although the start of freshman year in high school is typically filled with excitement and anxiety, the past few months have been a roller coaster of emotions for her parents, Randy and Roberta, who were recently told that the district might not provide their daughter's transportation to McKeesport's Serra Catholic High School because of mileage issues.

A 1972 state law requires a school district to provide students with busing to other schools located within a 10-mile distance of the district's farthest boundaries. And the Habermans were promised the transportation in a June 15 letter written by the Baldwin-Whitehall School District's former finance and operations director, Ken Gorton.

But depending on various Internet mapping sites, Serra is a smidgen farther than 10 miles away -- about one-tenth of a mile -- and it was apparently this distance that caused school district officials to have second thoughts after Mr. Gorton resigned in July.

"It's been so upsetting to us, it's ridiculous," said Mr. Haberman who attended the Aug. 15 school board meeting with his wife to try and resolve the confusion.

John Wilkinson, assistant superintendent of secondary education, who was directed by the board to review the situation, confirmed by phone Tuesday that the busing would be provided.

"We will get her there," said Mr. Wilkinson, who noted that the district has a couple of buses going to the McKeesport area.

"The district wants to do what is best for the children and their parents," he said.

According to transportation director Jim Kester, the district this year will provide transportation for almost 200 students who attend Catholic high schools in the area.

Four buses have been assigned to transport 89 students to Seton LaSalle High School, while those attending Central Catholic and Oakland Catholic use public transportation with passes paid for by the district.

"It's a unique situation since we don't typically bus to Serra," said board President Kevin Fischer.

The Habermans said, however, that the district has bused students to Serra before, but not recently.

"I really did my homework on this issue," said Mrs. Haberman. "Had I been told that the district doesn't bus there, we would never have considered it."

The Habermans, lifelong residents of the area and 1977 graduates of Baldwin High School, support their only child's decision to attend Serra after having completed her earlier education in the school district. She was attracted to the high school after attending a basketball camp there, and was impressed by its size, having an enrollment of fewer than 400 students and an average class size of 17.

"It's a big commitment for us but we are willing to make it," said Mrs. Haberman. Serra's annual tuition is $7,000.

And although their daughter will be the only passenger on the bus this week, she'll be joined next week by several students who will attend the Auberle Education Center and the Holy Family Institute, both in McKeesport.