Families left in lurch by school bus snafu

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This article was published 10/09/2021 (1462 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

School bus disruptions in Pembina Trails have forced families to reorganize work schedules and plan commutes for their kids.

“It is so frustrating… You can’t just not have a bus show up to pick up kids when they’re depending on it,” said Stacy Knight, a mother at École Charleswood School.

Knight never received details about a designated bus stop or departure time for her sixth-grader before classes got underway this week — despite living in a transit catchment area, requesting busing in June and having received verbal confirmation that her request had been approved last month.

The Knights are among dozens of families who have experienced transit troubles, ranging from lengthy waits at stops to children being mistakenly left off bus lists, amid a nerve-wracking back-to-school season as a fourth COVID-19 wave looms.

On the first day of school, Knight, a nurse who works early shifts, made alternative arrangements. When she picked up her daughter and checked the bus list to confirm pick-up details for the next day, she discovered only one student from the Grade 6 class was on it.

She later learned at least 10 peers had requested the service and, not unlike her family, remain in limbo about busing plans.

In a video posted to division social media channels Thursday, superintendent Ted Fransen offered a vague apology to parents: “We have let you down,” he says in the video, which was filmed at the bus compound in Pembina Trails.

Fransen continues, “We know how important family routines are and the important role that school buses play in that. We can do better. We will do better. We’re going to do a review of what happened, what went wrong, and improve our scheduling, our routing, and most importantly, perhaps, our communications.”

A division spokesperson would not disclose how many families have been affected.

When reached by phone, Fransen told the Free Press there are no excuses for the blunder, and Pembina Trails vows to do better.

Staff are examining the files of all students who are eligible for busing, he said, adding “it’ll take the better part of next week” to address the situation.

Mother Jana Silva said dealing with the transportation department has been “an absolute nightmare”, as she repeatedly and unsuccessfully attempted to find answers about seat sales.

Since Silva lives outside the bus-catchment area for Beaumont School, she must fork out $600 so her elementary schooler can secure a seat — if one is available. She learned this week it could take until October before she gets confirmation.

The mother’s main frustration is that the division did not inform families before Sept. 8 that seat sales were still being sorted out. On Sept. 9, the division issued a notice saying it will be routing such students starting on Sept. 21 and concluding the process by Oct. 1.

“They left so many parents in the dark with zero communication,” said Silva via email, noting her family is lucky they can make things work with her husband rescheduling work to do drop-offs and her retired mother-in-law available to do pick-ups.

“So many parents were left scrambling at the last minute.”

Knight has scrambled to set-up carpooling for next week.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie