KINGSTON – Several Ravenwood Subdivision residents are feeling slighted by a decision that will see their kids lose out on their school’s bus service come September.
Denise Francis didn’t expect to have this problem when she purchased her home on Philips Avenue, a quiet residential street currently serviced by a school bus that transports her eight-year-old twins to and from school.
In fact, the bus service was part of the appeal when the Francis family relocated to Ravenwood a few years back.
But, like many other parents in her shoes and neighbourhood, Francis received a rude awakening earlier this month. She was advised to look at the updated bus schedules for the area during a home and school meeting hosted at Kingston District School June 4, and was shocked to learn that her boys would be classified as walkers for the next school year.
“When parents started checking, many noticed they were no longer eligible for transportation. This includes, but is not limited to, part of our subdivision… this decision has numerous parents and others, who don't even have children in the school, outraged,” wrote Francis in a recent e-mail to Kings County News.
Eliminating bus stops
In a follow-up interview, Francis said stops along Philips, Balser Drive, Matthews Lane, Polaris Court, and Old Brook Road will be impacted as a result of a decision to enforce a policy that requires students residing within a one-kilometre radius of school to walk or find their own means of transportation.
“My biggest concern right now is the safety of the kids,” said Francis, adding that speeding is a common occurrence in the subdivision, where there are no sidewalks or crossing guards and the roads are often a sheet of ice in the winter due to sporadic plowing practices.
In her case, Francis said a map might show that her house is physically located within roughly 600 metres of the school but that distance reflects a direct route that would require her sons to take a shortcut through a secluded wooded area. If they walk along the streets in the subdivision, the shortest route is about 1.8 kilometres, Francis added.
She said she’s been told her sons could walk to the nearest bus stop elsewhere in the subdivision, but she’s concerned that existing transportation policies would allow for them to be turned away if the bus is full.
“They’re considered a courtesy student which, to me, means they can take that away from them at any time if it’s in their best interest,” said Francis.
Petition circulating
A petition with names of residents opposing the changes has more than 80 signatures, and Francis said she knows there would be more if military members were permitted to sign.
“What I’m being told by military people is that they would have bought in a different spot because they want their kids to take the bus. They don’t want to have to worry about getting them to school,” said Francis.
“We’ve been told that it’s a cost-cutting thing.”
Francis has heard from several parents struggling to come up with an alternate means of ensuring their children get to and from school safely due to conflicting work schedules or personal circumstances that leave them unable to walk their kids to school.
“People depend on the bus service,” she said.
Balser Drive resident Melanie Maltais estimates that she will lose at least $5,000 in annual income at her in-home daycare when the bus stops flagged for elimination are no longer on her street.
“I’m losing kids because they can’t walk after school and before school. They’re too young,” she said, adding that she’s unable to assure parents the children in her care will have access to a bus stop in September at this point.
She hopes school officials will consider reversing the decision once the true impact on families in known.
“It’s a loss of income, so It’s a big loss… it’s my paycheque.”
Changes backed by policy
Annapolis Valley Regional Centre for Education spokesperson Kristen Loyst said the bus route updates for Kingston District School and Pine Ridge Middle School ensures the stops in place comply with regional policies and procedures in the new school year.
“The changes to routes for these schools mean that approximately 35 families who live within a one-kilometre radius of their school will have the choice of having their children walk to school, or to use the nearest bus stop outside the one-kilometre radius,” wrote Loyst in an e-mail June 21.
“As an example, a family may live within the one-kilometre radius of their school and have a 1.3-kilometre walk to school and a 500-metre walk to the nearest bus stop.”
Sidewalks line the main street students must cross after exiting the subdivision, and the road the schools are located on.
There will continue to be a crossing guard in place to assist students at the intersection of Maple Street and Pine Ridge Avenue, Loyst noted.
“Every year, our senior administration and transportation staff look to improve busing for students and families in the region,” she said.
“The changes at Kingston and District Elementary School and Pine Ridge Middle School will improve overall transportation serving these schools, however will not provide any cost savings.”
Residents want decision reversed
Francis, however, is not likely to classify the changes as an improvement any time soon. She’s reached out to the AVRCE, the Village of Kingston and Kings West MLA Leo Glavine to express concerns on behalf of like-minded residents of Ravenwood Subdivision. She hopes that news of the resulting strain on families, and fears that property values could be negatively impacted, will cause the decision makers behind the impending changes to reconsider.
She said Glavine expressed support for the concerned citizens, but the local MLA could not be reached for comment June 21.
“Student safety is the biggest thing. They’re not prepared. Nobody gave us any warning whatsoever… I really want something that says that my kids can take a bus,” said Francis.
“Nobody cares, nobody listens – they all just shove it off to other people.”
