After months of pushing, representatives from the Northern Lights School Division (NLSD) finally have a chance to express their transportation issues to the Minister of Education.
After months of pushing, representatives from the Northern Lights School Division (NLSD) finally have a chance to express their transportation issues to the Minister of Education.
"From a level of advocacy, until we have that opportunity to fully share a bigger understanding of the dilemmas that we face it always feels like you're hitting a brick wall," said NLSD board chair Arlene Hrynyk. "Being able to meet with the minister to fully explain to him the realities in the transportation system across the province...I think that's going to serve us as favourable."
Led by Buffalo Trails School Division, NLSD has been part of a coordinated effort by school boards across the province to try and secure a meeting with minister David Eggen. Representing public, separate and francophone school boards, together the group has been sending letters to the minister's office but received no response.
Last week, the group received word that the secured a short meeting with the minister on March 21.
"The fact that they have the meeting alone is very promising. It's our job to bring forward those concerns, it's our job to educate them in our realities on the ground," said Hrynyk.
The main concern for NLSD remains a lack of transportation funding. With school boards seeing no increase, Northern Lights has had to search for ways to stretch the dollars as far as possible, including combining and collapsing routes.
"The replacement of buses is a big issue. The dollar is low so there's a 30 per cent rise the cost of buying buses because the only manufacturer right now is out of the United States," said trustee Nestor Kunec, who is one of the representatives from NLSD in the group. "Some school boards have a $700,000 surplus while others our in the red, so how do you balance that out? Then you have some divisions that own their buses, some contract it out and some have half and half."
Kunec added, "The main issue is still funding. Boards are having to dig deeper into other revenue sources for transportation funding."
The group decided the best way to get their message across is by coming up with two or three main issues to bring forward to the minister.
"You can go with 20 asks and get nothing or you can go with a couple asks and a few solutions to improve the system," said Hyrnyk, adding that she's looking forward to seeing the outcome of the meeting.
"I think, based on all of the input, I have complete confidence the group is going to take forward the biggest issues that face us all that the government could explore to correct those issues, whether it be the funding model itself or whatever."
