Edmonton Public Schools adding, increasing bus fees mid-year after provincial budget cut

The parents of 11,000 Edmonton public school students will have to start paying busing fees for the last five months of the school year after the province killed a grant that offset the cost.

The change was approved unanimously at the Edmonton Public School board meeting Tuesday but not before trustees expressed their frustration with the province putting them in this position by ending the School Fee Reduction Grant.

Trustee Michael Janz focused his ire on Education Minister Adriana LaGrange, a former Red Deer Catholic school trustee,for saying school boards will be accountable forany increasein fees without acknowledging herrole in forcing the decision.

"I think what gets me the most is the lack of empathy. That the minister herself was a trustee," said Janz. "She knows how hard these decisions are. She knows what this means for parents."

Other trustees encouraged parents to contact LaGrange's office if they were frustrated by the fee increase.

"Yes, let us know. We want to hear. But also contact the province. Contact the minister of education's office. Contact your MLA, " trustee Michelle Draper said. "Let them know how this is affecting your life."

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Tuesday's decision means students who live 2.4 kilometres or more from their designated schools will have to pay for a school bus or pay more for an Edmonton Transit pass as of Feb. 1.

The monthly yellow bus fee for a kindergarten to Grade 6 student will go from zero to $33 a month. For older students, the fee goes from zero to $60 a month.

Starting Feb.1, kindergarten students will now be charged busing fees starting after being exempt since the 2005-2006 school year.

Bill 1, passed by the previous NDP government, eliminated that cost by prohibiting school boards from charging bus fees in June 2017. Schools were given a School Fee Reduction Grant to make up the shortfall.

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That grant was eliminated by the new United Conservative government in the October budget.Edmonton Public Schools says that meant the division had$5.3 million less than it was expecting for school transportation costs.

Students who optfor a subsidized Edmonton Transit pass will also pay more. A pass that costs $19 each month for a Grade 7 to 12 student who lives 2.4 kilometres away from their designated school will increase to $60.

Families who currently pay busing fees will see no change in the amount they pay for this school year.

Many trustees expressed concern with low-income families who can't afford to pay a new fee in the middle of the school year.

Board chair Trisha Estabrooks said parents who can't afford to pay can talk to their principals who have the latitude to waive or reduce fees.

"If a parent doesn't feel comfortable reaching out to their principal, there are other avenues," she said. "They can call our district support team here centrally, they can certainly reach out to their trustee."

Although theincrease only partly offsets the shortfall, Estabrooks said trustees were reluctant to charge parents bus fees for the first five months of the school year.

"This is one step toward recovering some of those fees but the reality is, next school year, we need to have a serious conversation with parents about what kind of service they want and what they're willing to pay for it," she said. "Because this is not sustainable."

The board is looking at more collaborationwith Edmonton Catholic to reduce busing costs.

About 105,000 students attend Edmonton Public Schools.