The first day of school did not go smoothly for the parents of children attending school out of their designated zoning areas. Their children were denied access to the bus, with drivers claiming that families must pay a fee of $200 per child to the New Frontier School Board for pickup.
While most students attend their designated school according to zoning regulations, some parents choose to send their children to different schools. The reasons can be many, from living on a zoning border, to a recent move to a personal choice. In the past, the solution was simple—parents would drive their children to a specific location within the appropriate zoning area to wait for the bus to take them to school. This year, parents of the children eagerly waiting to board the bus for their first day of school were notified of the fee, with some children initially being denied entrance to the bus, with the drivers claiming that their fees hadn’t been paid. Parents, including Hemmingford local Joey Ruck, were confused. This was the first time that they had heard of such a fee—no letters had been sent and no calls had been received. Instead, Ruck decided to drive his three children, ages five, six and eight, to Franklin Elementary on the morning of August 31st. He has been doing so ever since.
According to NFSB, one of the reasons behind the new fee can be directly related to the severe budget cuts that the school board has had to contend with over the past year. According to NFSB Assistant Director General Mr. Helm (who also serves as the Director of Transportation), the school board must charge these fees in order to continue to provide the transportation for special accommodation requests—which includes out of zone students, walkers and students requiring multiple buses. The fee is a way to ensure that NFSB can maintain its efficient and effective delivery of quality service.
Traditionally, parents who wish to send their children to schools out of the zoning area are expected to provide their own transportation. According to the NFSB, alternative pick up zones, such as the Havelock gas station, whether considered within the zone or not, still create an extra pickup for drivers, thereby creating an additional cost to the transportation system, which must be covered by the NFSB. Asking the parents to contribute is a method by which the school board can continue to offer these services.
Many might argue that parents like Ruck should simply send their children to the school within their zoning area to avoid the fee, which would come to $600 per year for the Ruck family. In Ruck’s case, he chose to enrol his children in Franklin Elementary when his family of five was still living in Havelock. After losing their home to a fire, they relocated four kilometers down the road, officially placing them in the Hemmingford zoning area. Not wanting to change their children’s routine, and preferring that their children benefit from the advantage of a smaller class, Ruck decided to keep his children enrolled at the school that they were most familiar with. He had no problem driving to a designated zoning area. This year, the introduction of a hefty fee left the family reeling—especially since they had no notice. When asked about why out of zone parents were not informed of the new cost of transportation, Mr. Helm commented that the NFSB was looking into the situation.
As for the Ruck children, they will continue to attend Franklin Elementary. In order to avoid the fee, the Ruck family will be driving their family to school.
