Central Okanagan Public Schools (SD 23) said it currently allocates $3.1 million in operating funding to student transportation, but could those funds be better used elsewhere?
That is the question the district’s transportation steering committee is asking at a number of upcoming public consultations.
The consultations will take place over the next three months, according to a news release, to inform recommendations to the Board of Education on the future of its transportation system.
The timeline for the consultation is as follows:
Oct. 15 – Oct. 28: Public Survey on Transportation
Dec. 2: Recommendations published on Transportation Review website
Dec. 3 – Dec. 12: Drop-in public meetings to review recommendations; all events take place from 6-7:30 p.m.:
Canyon Falls Middle School – Dec. 3
George Elliot Secondary School – Dec. 5
Mount Boucherie Secondary School – Dec. 9
Rutland Secondary School – Dec. 10
Dr. Knox Middle School – Dec. 12
Dec. 2-Dec. 23: Public Survey on Recommendations
February 2020: Final recommendations to Policy Committee
February 2020: Board of Education reviews final recommendations and makes policy and fee decisions
The district said it encourages all families, including those who do not receive bus service, to participate “as the board sets transportation service levels and determines its budget priorities for future school years,” the release said.
In September, the school district was under fire by parents after some students were not allowed to ride the bus to school because their bus pass applications had not yet been processed.
“Central Okanagan Public Schools apologizes to families who have yet to receive a response to their school bus application,” Central Okanagan Public Schools said on its website.
The school district noted, though, there was a last-minute rush for passes.
“There were almost approximately 1,700 applications that were submitted after July 31,” the district said, “600 of which were submitted after September 1.”
The district said bus routes are structured around applications for bus passes received before August.
As of Sept. 8, over 5,000 students are riding a SD 23 bus, the district said.