INNISFAIL – School bus fees are on the rise for all Chinook’s Edge students who use the division’s bus service, including a new fee for rural students, officials announced last week.
The changes will come into effect at the start of the 2020-21 school year.
Students who live more than 2.4 kilometres from their designated school will be asked to pay a new fee of $200, while students living closer than 2.4 kilometres face a fee of $500, up from the previous fee of $300.
As well, students requiring multiple buses will pay the appropriate fee for each seat, excluding normal bus route transfers.
The move is being made to counter a $1.2-million transportation-funding shortfall anticipated for the next school year.
The division is projecting receiving $6 million in grants from the province to support the transportation system. The cost to run the system next school year is estimated to be $7.2 million.
“Chinook’s Edge has been dealing with a transportation deficit for several years, but changes in provincial funding has created a greater challenge this year,” said superintendent Kurt Sacher.
Other strategies were examined to deal with the funding shortfall, but were rejected “after reviewing the negative impact on students,” he said.
Those other options included taking the $1.2 million needed from instruction and reducing the number of teachers and staff in the division, he said.
The division will be allowing parents to pay the fees in instalments, he said.
“We are confident this decision will successfully achieve our goal to eliminate the deficit in our transportation budget,” he said.
More information on the new fees is available on the Chinook’s Edge School Division website.
