Bus route changes leave kids in alternative programs stranded

Dozens of children may have to go much fartherto catch a bus to school because of route changes announced this weekby the Calgary Board of Education a move that some parents say may force them to withdraw their kids from alternative programs.

Helen Nowlan-Walls says her seven-year-old son who has a communication delay was thriving in an all-boys program at Sir James Lougheed School in southwest Calgary. But now she might have to pull him out of the program.

This week the school board informed her thatthe bus he took will no longer stop in Tuscany in northwest Calgary.

The CBE says it informed parents of about 80 students on low ridership routes earlier this week that, if they want to continue to attend alternative programs, they "will be required to access a congregated stop with a travel distance more than five kilometres from their home."

The board says it's streamlining to try to rein in its transportation budget.

Nowlan-Walls says she and her husband both work, and, without the bus service, her son will have to go to the regular community school.

"Moving him there means he's not going to have the same support," she said.

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CBE trustee Trina Hurdman says the board is dealing with a $9-million shortfall in its transportation budget and is having to make some tough choices.

"There are some families this is going to completely change how they thought of the future for the education of their child, and I understand that," she said.

"Each bus costs us $55,000 per year, and if you only have 10 children on a bus, then that works out to over $5,000 per student, and the province only provides $549 per expected eligible student for transportation."

Hurdman says she, too, has an eight-year-old daughter who goes to an alternative language program.

"Right now, I am assessing all of my various options, and if it doesn't work out, then, yes, at the end of the day, I might have to send her to the community school, which is a great school as well, but I love the language program," she said.

Education Minister David Eggen said in a statement that the department "is conducting an operational reviewof the Calgary Board of Education to provide clarity for parents and ensure the best use of public money to support students."

'Can't keep raising fees forever'

That review, focused on board systems, administration and transportation services, is set to get underway on Aug. 14.

Hurdman said the board worked hard to maintain service levels to meet parents' expectations, and even raised fees to try to make it possible.

"But at some point, you can't just keep on raising fees forever, and with the introduction of Bill 1, that option was actually just taken off the table. And so, if you can't raise fees, then you have to reduce service levels," she said.

Bill 1, which was passed earlier this year, eliminatestransportation fees for kindergarten to Grade 9 studentswho live 2.4 kilometres or more away from their designated regular program school and who take a yellow school bus.

"We realize that a lot of these changes will be very difficult for a lot of families, and I do empathize with that. I will be having to be make some of those choices as well in my own family," Hurdman said.

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