Busing children to schools has now turned into a two-tiered system. The SSRSB is offering caregivers the ‘opportunity’ to drive their children to a centralised location, in order to cut down on bus times and guarantee a 30-minute ride to school versus a possible 60-minute ride.
Sounds great, right? Maybe so, if you are afforded the luxury of being able to drive your child(ren) to said location.
What about the caregivers who do not have access to a vehicle? How is it fair for Suzy to have a shorter bus ride than Sally and the only difference is that Suzy’s caregiver has access to a reliable vehicle?
What about the parents who are shift workers or who work away? How is it fair for Johnny to have a shorter bus ride than Jimmy because his parents both have flexible jobs that allow him to be dropped off/picked up at a centralised location?
These are just two examples of children who may be treated unfairly due to a two-tiered busing system that allows the SSRSB to feel good about their ‘shorter’ bus times, as they pull children from their home communities and ship them out.
Surely the elected school board members are able to model the fairness that children demonstrate every day on the playgrounds?
Irene MacDonald, Cape Breton
This is not a viable solution. You know this.
Furthermore, closing the school will have far reaching and negative impacts on the community and economy.
Give all of this province a future. Do not shut down communities by closing small schools.
All think of the children. The commute you are suggesting is simply a bad idea.
does not make sense, weather your child is in a bus for 60 minutes are some ones car for 30 and then the bus for 30. Still the same amount of time to be on the road, except now you are subjecting children to 2 forms of trans port on roads that are some times not the best. So what happens when schools are dismissed early because of bad roads. Can you guarantee us that the safety equipment and training of these other drivers is equal to or better than the bus drivers. class 2c license to transport children in a bus/vs class 5 in a car. Foolish and dangerous move
Ok. Information about this situation has been popping up on my Facebook for months. All I hear is negative comments. I understand the schools closing is a loss, but it is not the end of the world. As a close knit community you say you support one another and your school, yet at the same time if a central location for busing was available you would not organize a carpooling situation for your children to all be able to get bussed from there? Have you also thought about the children who live in places such as Upper Cornwall, Newburne, Springfield, etc who also have upwards to a 60min or more bus ride daily to the New Germany schools and yet you do not hear those parents protesting or ranting about their situation? I personally had a 60 to 95 min bus ride to school and then again home every day from grade primary until grade 11. It wasn’t that bad. We had a great bus driver and throughly enjoyed our time on the bus chatting with friends or listening to music. I actually missed it once I didn’t have it anymore. It was preparation and unwinding time before and after school.
If you close petite July of 2018, you had better have that new school you promised us built by September 2018.