School board examines use of vans

Following a crash last weekend that killed seven students and a teacher in New Brunswick, P.E.I.'s Eastern School District might stop renting 15-passenger vans.

Since the accident, the safety record of the vans has come under close scrutiny. Critics say the vans, when loaded,have a centre of gravity that is too high and too far back, increasing the risk they will fishtail and roll over.

U.S. schools districts arebanned from using the vans totransportstudents under the age of 18. Nova Scotia schools likewise do not usethe vans for transporting students.

"The fact that we've got other constituencies, like in Nova Scotia, who don't use them anymore is perhaps an indication that perhaps they're not as safe as we assumed that they were," Eastern School District superintendent Sandy MacDonald told CBC News Tuesday.

"What we basically want, if we can find that, is a safer way to transport our students than it seems that these 15-seat vans offer."

MacDonald said he's already spoken to most of his colleagues about the issue, but he has to finalize discussions with school board trustees, as well as the Department of Education.

Education Minister Gerard Greenan said the province has no plans to ban the vehicle for transporting students.

"The issue, with regard to the banning of these vehicles, is not something that we are looking at right now," said Greenan.

"I don't have a crystal ball to look into and tell you definitively that they will change or they won't change. If people have concerns they can certainly contact their respective school boards."

All three P.E.I. school boards Eastern, Western and French regularly rent the 15-seat vans to transport students, most often for sporting events.