Parents hoping to have their kids bused to school in Flin Flon will likely need to find another way this school year. The Flin Flon School Division (FFSD) will have to change services to follow provincial guidelines this school year, ending transport for students in Grades 7-8 and students who live within 1.6 kilometres of a school.
The move will effectiely end bus services for any students at Ruth Betts Community School who live in the uptown area and students at Ecole McIsaac School who live in east Flin Flon.
The decision was not made locally - the guidelines are set out in the provincial Public Schools Act. Previously, FFSD had offered bus service on top of what was mentioned in the act. During COVID-19, adding extra services on top of provincially mandated rules for buses - including frequent sanitization and a maximum 50 per cent capacity - wasn’t in the cards.
“It’s the Public Schools Act that sets this criteria. It’s not our individual division. All we’re doing now is, because we have so many limitations on busing, we’re in a position where we have to bus only eligible students,” said trustee Amy Sapergia Green during the division’s August 11 meeting.
“We’re also asking for families to come forward, even if they are eligible and able, to support getting their kids back and forth to school.”
When asked about what the situation with restoring the previous busing services would be, division superintendent Tammy Ballantyne said no specifics could yet be given.
“It’s sort of up in the air right now,” she said.
A pair of parents came to the meeting to ask about the busing changes, worrying that having to enforce the provincial rules would mean possibly putting kids at risk.
“If they have to walk 20 minutes home, 40 minutes long [for lunch], then walk back, they don’t have time to do lunch, then they’re also at home by themselves,” said Christine Martin.
Dennis Martin also voiced concerns about safety for kids having to walk to and from school who previously were able to take a bus.
“Our town isn’t getting any safer. There’s been a lot of issues lately and there are safety concerns that other parents have talked to me about,” he said.
“It’s more the concerns come winter. The sidewalks aren’t plowed 90 per cent of the time, blowing through past the lake and everything… there are going to be kids walking on the road.”
Ballantyne heard the Martins’ concerns but could not make any promises for the future of the program or how the school division would handle busing. However, Ballantyne did say that kids having to go home and back at lunch hour would be allayed by the reintroduction of the school division’s lunch program, which she said would be likely for this year.
“I’m very optimistic we’ll have a lunch program,” said Ballantyne, adding that kids could have to go home for lunch if the province deems the program unsuitable but she did not anticipate that happening.
