By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Chinook’s Edge transportation deficit grows, hurting students

Apr 27, 2018 | 1:45 PM

Chinook’s Edge School Division continues to struggle with a massive transportation deficit.

The board is currently dealing with an $820,000 hole, according to Superintendent Kurt Sacher.

He says they aren’t the only rural school division handling this type of issue, and it’s affecting students negatively.

“That’s funding we could quite honestly use right in the classroom,” he says.  “The board has looked at all kinds of cost cutting measures.”

Sacher says that includes partnering with the neighbouring Catholic school division, and increasing ride times.

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Chinook’s Edge will be meeting with the Minister of Education on May 4 to advocate for more support when it comes to transportation.

“We just really want the minister to understand the impact it has on kids when you elevate ride times, for example,” he says. “These kids have a fairly long, intensive day at school to begin with, so when you put them on a bus over an hour in the morning and over an hour at the end of the day, that’s a really long day if you’re a kindergarten kid or if you’re in grade one.”

The province is also undergoing a transportation fee and regulatory review, something Sacher is hopeful will have a positive impact.

“We just can’t keep increasing fees and passing it on to parents for the urban component of our transportation system,” he says. “That’s another angle we looked at — reducing the costs overall, but the board was just reluctant to increase fees again to try to offset some of the costs.”

Last January, the transportation deficit was projected ay $700,000. Contributing factors include the carbon tax, fleet renewal, and the purchase of seven new buses. 

As of March, schools facing higher costs due to the carbon tax qualify for grants from Energy Efficient Alberta.