Parents of kindergarten students wait to see if bus service will be cut come fall

Two Winnipeg school divisions are considering cutting bus service for kindergarten students when classes resume a change that would make it harder for parents already struggling to adjust to returning to school, according to two mothers.

"This [pandemic]has just been such a disaster, as a parent, to have to navigate," said Kelly Wilson, who hasfour children in the Louis Riel School Division.

"Adding this idea of messing around with transportation and throwing one more curve ball at parents just seems unfair."

That division, along with the Pembina Trails School Division,is exploring the temporary option to make sure buses operate at 50 per cent capacity or less to meet physical distancing requirements.

The divisions said they are also considering other temporary options to reduce the number of students on buses.

Those possibilities include restricting fee-for-service bus transportation and extending the minimum walk zone boundary (which determines whether students live too close to the school to be eligible for bus service) from 1.6 kilometres up to a maximum of 2.5 kilometres.

Although Wilson is able to drive her children to school, she says many parents aren't in that same position and rely on the bus.

"It's really unfortunate that our current government is putting more strain on families as opposed to biting the bullet and investing a little bit more in just adding more buses to the route," she said.

"It's just going to make everything that much harder to get your kids to school, and sometimes it's hard enough," said Rebecca Waddell, whose daughter, Ruth, is starting kindergarten in the Pembina Trails School Division in September.

The family lives just inside that 1.6 kilometre zone, so Ruth and her older sisters don't qualify for bus service, even before the changes that could come.

That means she already knows she'll have to find another solution.

But for some of the parents,waiting to see what changes will actually happen for their kids come September could add stress for parents who are already dealing with a lot, Waddell said.

Division-funded buses could also be cut

Pembina Trails superintendent Ted Fransen said the division is consulting families about the possible changes through a survey though no decisions have been made yet.

"Since Manitoba Health is recommending, at this time, that bus capacity will be at or about 50 per cent, there is a possibility of reduced bus service for eligible students. Our parent survey will assist the school division in planning," Fransen said in an email.

The divisions are also considering temporarily scrapping divisionally-funded bus transportation.

In the Louis Riel division, where about 3,000 students take the bus, that change could affect groups including Grade 7 and Grade 8 students coming from Sage Creek to Collge Bliveau and Windsor Park Collegiate, and band students coming from cole Varennes to cole Marie-Anne-Gaboury, a statement on the division's website said.

The same change in the Pembina Trails division, where roughly 2,700 students take the bus, could affect Grade 7 and Grade 8 students who take the bus for specialized programs, including Laidlaw to Charleswood and River West Park to Westdale, said a statement on that division's website. The division also said it will prioritize transportation for students with identified needs, as directed by provincial legislation.

Difficult decisions

Louis Riel superintendent Christian Michalik said the division faces a challenge to come up with a way to cut bus ridership in half and he hopes a survey sent to parents of students who take the bus will help them find a solution.

"We'll see what we get in terms of a response from parents to help us come to some final decisions and build a strategy that makes the best sense and is the least impactful," said Michalik.

The division is also waiting on the province to let them know which of three possible scenarios its schools will need to prepare for, Michalik said a decision that Manitoba's education minister said will come by Aug. 1.

"We'll just have a better understanding of what scenario we're going to find ourselves in of the three come September, in August when [the] government lets us know."