As a new school year approaches, central Newfoundland parents are again raising concerns about the plans by the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District (NLESD) to end student pickup within a “family responsibility zone”.
In May, the NLESD announced alternate arrangements would have to be made for students living within a 1.6 kilometre radius of a school.
According to the district, this policy had been in place for some time, but it is now being enforced as a means of aligning bus schedule regulations for all English-speaking schools in the province.
A statement from the district via email, in response to questions from The Central Voice, indicates it is following the provincial government’s guidelines, which provides funding for student transportation, and it must be done in a consistent manner.
The NLESD emphasized that this policy is not unique to central Newfoundland.
The statement also advised that students within the family responsibility zone can apply for courtesy – unused – seating, but would have to travel outside of the 1.6-kilometre radius to get on the bus.
This plan is not sitting well with parents.
Concerns only growing for many Copper Ridge Academy parents
With the new school year about to begin in just over three weeks, the concerns and frustrations of Baie Verte parents are escalating.
Parent Jennifer Wimbleton is deeply worried about the potential dangers for her two children having to walk to Copper Ridge Academy this September, and she says she will not allow that to happen.
“They certainly will not be walking to school on this busy main highway,” Wimbleton told The Central Voice. “It’s very disheartening. We’re hoping for answers soon, but if not, we’ll need a quick plan in place on getting our kids to and from school.”
Copper Ridge Academy is located in an industrial and commercial area of Highway 410, with businesses, restaurants, a gas station, hotel and a construction site for a new seniors’ home. Because of this, the area is known to be busy with traffic and heavy equipment machinery.
For many years, students living within 1.6 kilometres of this school were picked up by the school bus, even though it was against the school district’s family responsibility policy.
Since the NLESD’s decision to enforce its policy, ending pickup within the family responsibility zone, tension has risen as many parents worry the safety of their children is being put at risk.
Cynthia Sacrey is worried that without the proper infrastructure, it will be a major risk letting her nine-year-old daughter take the 30-minute walk to school each morning.
“I don’t want her walking that highway, it’s not safe,” Sacrey says. “Traffic is really busy that time of day; there’s no sidewalks in the area. And in the winter, with the snowplow, the size of that road will only decrease.”
Sacrey says this area of Highway 410 has no sidewalks, street lights, crossing guards or traffic lights in place, and this poses a serious danger to any student who may now have to walk this road to school.
If this infrastructure was in place, both Sacrey and Wimbleton agree it would drastically change the concerns they currently have.
Sacrey says the issue has brought such distress on her family that she has discussed quitting her job to ensure her daughter has a ride to and from school each day.
“We did discuss that as one of our options, which is sad,” she told The Central Voice. “Especially when we were first told this would never be an issue.”
Sacrey says there was an understanding, since the school began its construction phase, that because it was located on a highway and in an industrial area, students within this 1.6-kilometre zone would be able to take the bus to school each day.
“We weren’t given any acknowledgement that [the 1.6-kilometre family responsibility policy] existed in the past,” Wimbleton said. “We actually lived outside the 1.6-kilometre zone and we moved closer to the school four years ago.
“If I had known my child would not be bused, we would have never purchased another home.”
Sacrey and Wimbleton may apply to the school district for courtesy seating once the school year starts, but they have both been told that their child’s ability to get a spot can change year-to-year.
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Centreville parent prepared to stop the buses again
Centreville stopped the school buses once before and parent Greg Cutler says he’s prepared to do it again.
Parents in the amalgamated community of Centreville-Wareham-Trinity, held up the school buses headed for Centreville Academy on May 17, protesting the decision to eliminate student pickup within the 1.6-kilometre zone.
After months of silence and still no resolution, Cutler said this matter is still far from finished.
“(The district) has made its decision, but it don’t mean we still can’t express our opinions and make things a little difficult for them,” he says. “Because, for some of us, it’s still not a dead issue and there could be another protest on the first day of school.”
Cutler maintains his stance on the matter, stating it’s about child safety. The town doesn’t have sidewalks, there’s wildlife in area and, he says, drug paraphernalia has been found along the streets.
“There has not been one thing done to address these concerns. Yet these half-empty buses will drive on pass them, not being able to pick them up,” he says. “It doesn’t make sense.”
Dover parent hoping compromise can be arranged
It’s been months since the issue was raised, but Lori Rogers says parents in Dover still can’t get any satisfaction trying to arrange busing for their children come September.
She was one of more than a dozen parents in the Bonavista Bay community to voice her concerns, back in May about the school district’s decision to align busing regulations at all English schools in the province.
Since then, very little has changed. She says the decision will impact more than 30 students at William Mercer Academy.
“Basically, we were told there would be nothing done,” said Rogers. “If they want to make it about equality amongst schools, then I want French immersion and a cafeteria for our children, because fair should be fair.”
For Rogers, the main concern is the safety of her children.
She said there is high-speed traffic moving through the area, there are no sidewalks and the shoulder of the road is very narrow.
The ongoing issue will likely again come to a head as the new school year approaches. And Rogers is hopeful something can be done to get children to school safely.
She would like to see an amendment to courtesy seating regulations, which allow students within the family responsibility zone to seek available seating on the bus.
Under the current policy, students would have to travel outside the zone to be eligible for pickup.
Rogers said a simple change to the wording of the regulation would keep courtesy seating in place, but allow pickup within the zone for the students who need it.
Fogo Island-Cape Freels MHA Derrick Bragg, who had met with the group back in May, could not be reached for comment.
RELATED:
Parents in Baie Verte over implementation of 1.6-kilometre busing policy
Centreville parents pushing to maintain bus pick up within 1.6-kilometre radius
Dover parents calling on school district to re-instate pick up
