Open Letter: Rural School Transportation is Essential Infrastructure, And Ontario Government Needs to Lead
An Owen Sound father appeals for provincial intervention and adequate funding to facilitate a deal between the Student Transportation Service Consortium of Grey Bruce and bus operators.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
The following is the second letter Jesse Edmunds has submitted to BGOS MPP Paul Vickers and Director of Education Paul Calandra since the Student Transportation Service Consortium of Grey Bruce and School Bus Ontario each made statements on Monday. As of publication, he had not received a response to either inquiry.
Mr. Vickers and Minister,
I am following up on my email regarding the potential disruption of student transportation services across Grey-Bruce.
Since writing to you, the situation has escalated significantly.
School Bus Ontario is now reporting that 308 school bus routes serving more than 16,000 students are at risk, with local school bus operators identifying Friday, August 21 as the deadline for contracts to be finalized.
That changes the urgency of this matter considerably.
We are no longer talking about a hypothetical transportation disruption that may occur when students return to school in September. We are now facing an immediate deadline, only days away, that could determine whether thousands of children across Grey-Bruce have transportation to school.
I am asking the Provincial Government to intervene now.
As I noted previously, Bluewater District School Board has specifically advised families that negotiations are occurring “within the funding parameters set by the Ministry of Education.”
If those provincial funding parameters are contributing to an inability to reach an agreement, then the Province cannot reasonably stand on the sidelines and characterize this solely as a local negotiation.
The potential impact is enormous.
More than 16,000 students.
308 bus routes.
Thousands of families across Grey-Bruce.
This is particularly serious in a rural region where school transportation is essential infrastructure. Many students live considerable distances from their schools. Many parents cannot simply leave work twice each day to provide transportation. Some households have one vehicle. Others have no realistic alternative transportation available at all.
Asking families to simply “arrange alternative transportation” for potentially thousands of students is not a credible solution.
There is also a fundamental contradiction that needs to be addressed.
The Province is placing increased emphasis on student attendance and ensuring children are physically present in classrooms. At the same time, we are now facing the possibility that the transportation system relied upon by more than 16,000 students in this region could be disrupted.
Government cannot demand improved attendance while allowing access to school itself to become uncertain.
Mr. Vickers, you represent these families at Queen’s Park. You understand the geography of Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound and the realities of living and working in rural Ontario. I am therefore specifically asking you to advocate directly with the Minister and your government for immediate intervention before Friday’s deadline.
Minister, I am asking your office to clarify what role the Ministry is currently playing in resolving this situation and what steps you are prepared to take before August 21 to ensure an agreement is reached.
At this stage, I believe families deserve answers to several straightforward questions:
Has the Ministry of Education been directly involved in discussions with the school boards, Shared School Services and/or the affected bus operators?
Are the Ministry’s current transportation funding parameters contributing to the inability of the parties to reach an agreement?
Will the Province provide additional funding or other support if that is what is required to maintain existing transportation services?
What action will the Province take before Friday’s deadline to prevent 308 routes and more than 16,000 students from being affected?
Can the Province assure Grey-Bruce families that eligible students will have transportation available when school begins September 8?
With the deadline now only days away, I would respectfully request a substantive response from your offices before Friday, August 21.
This is precisely the type of situation where government leadership is required.
The school boards have responsibilities. The transportation consortium has responsibilities. The bus operators have responsibilities.
The Province has responsibilities as well.
Sixteen thousand students and their families should not be left wondering whether they will have a way to get to school because the organizations responsible for delivering and funding the system could not reach an agreement.
There is still time to prevent that from happening — but the window is rapidly closing.
Bring the parties together. Determine what is preventing an agreement. Find the solution. Get it done before Friday.
Our students, families and communities deserve that certainty.
I look forward to your prompt response.
Jesse M. Edmunds
Owen Sound
Letters to the Editor do not necessarily reflect the opinions or beliefs of The Owen Sound Current and its editor or publisher.
Related:
