Although discussions were already taking place regarding a couple bus safety issues, two matters were brought up at the April 11 St. Paul Education Regional Division board meeting, partially in response to a couple of recent tragedies involving buses.
First, board chair Heather Starosielski spoke about having bus drivers keep their strobe lights on continuously, regardless of weather conditions, both in and out of town. Having the strobe lights on doesn't make a cost difference, but it could increase visibility of a school bus.
"It makes sense to me if there are kids on the bus," said trustee Rhonda Lafrance.
It was noted that several school divisions already do this as a common practice.
"I think it's a good practice," said Starosielski, noting that as a parent herself she would like to know all safety measures are being used.
When speaking of athletes traveling on buses, it was noted that some buses in the division, specifically the Regional High School Saints' bus and the Ashmont Falcons' bus, may not have strobe lights on them at all.
"But, I would say we should get on that," said Brodziak.
A motion to move forward with the continuous strobe practice, and ensuring all division buses carrying students have strobe lights, was carried.
A second bus safety issue was brought up in response to an accident near Thorhild in March that claimed the life of a 15-year-old student when a gravel truck collided with the back of a school bus.
Starosielski noted that a review of the use of the back seat on buses could be done. Some other divisions have started a practice where the back seat is only used when needed. While some buses are at capacity, it could become a practice when buses aren't full.
"Space permitting, it's an easy fix," said Brodziak.
Often on field trips or when sports teams are travelling on a bus, the back seat could be left open, for example. The topic will be explored further and brought back to the board.
Fire
An electrical fire at Heinsburg School on April 7 has resulted in students being moved to the Heinsburg Community Hall for a period of time.
"Much of the school was filled with smoke," said St. Paul Education Regional Division Superintendent Glen Brodziak, when updating school board trustees about the situation at the April 11 school board meeting. While the fire itself didn't spread far, there is extensive smoke damage in the building.
The fire was caused by a vending machine.
Students will be relocated for one month to six weeks. A cleaning crew was at the school by April 9, and classes were cancelled on April 9 and 10 while staff mobilized and set up the temporary school at the community hall.
"School is back on," said Brodziak, adding, "It's quite impressive how they've mobilized that quickly."
The school's gymnasium and library could be ready to use within a week, but it will be up to the school's staff how they want use the facilities. During the Wednesday board meeting, Brodziak shared a video with trustees of students playing outside at recess. Students happily played in the snow and rolled down a hill, since there was no playground equipment to use.
According to Brodziak, an employee living nearby noticed smoke coming from the school and called 911. Brodziak was unsure if a fire alarm had gone off, when asked by trustees.
Humboldt
Brodziak told SPERD trustees that the division had posted a note on its Facebook page recognizing the tragedy that occurred to the Humboldt Broncos' hockey team, and reminding people that "high profile tragedy can cause intense feelings in people for many different reasons. It can also rekindle historical trauma in entire human systems like families, schools, communities and even nations."
"Tragedies affect us all differently," said Brodziak, as he spoke about the situation. He noted that there are tips posted on the SPERD website about monitoring children and how to engage in conversation with young people and offer support.
Cannabis
The topic of cannabis legislation came up during Brodziak's monthly report. Brodziak noted that some staff would be taking part in workshops and that the division was waiting to see what type of legislation comes out with legalization not far down the road.
It was noted that there were some concerns coming from the Mennonite community specifically, regarding legalization of cannabis in Canada.
Board chair Heather Starosielski said she felt some work should be done on how the division will deal with legalization, especially since the board doesn't typically meet over the summer. It was noted that many of the policies in place already have procedures for dealing with staff or students who appear to be impaired.
"We're going to work through it," said Brodziak, when speaking about legalization, and changes that could come about. He noted that until bigger announcements are made, there isn't a lot that can be done.
"But, you're right, we've got to be ready," he said, in response to Starosielski's concerns about being on a tight timeline once legalization comes into play.
Trustee Lorne Young, who is also the mayor of the Town of Elk Point, said Elk Point's council has been doing some work on the topic, but acknowledged that they aren't ready to take the lead, and are waiting to see what other municipalities will be doing.
"There are so many grey areas in this," said Starosielski.
Ashmont School
The construction of the new Ashmont School is running on schedule, and students are still expected to be able to move into the school for September of 2018.
"It's coming along amazing," said Starosielski. Site work at the school is expected to be complete by June of 2019.
Bus fees
Recent discussions at a transportation meeting has resulted in the board moving toward increased busing fees. The transportation department is predicting a $90,000 deficit, said Starosielski, during the April 11 SPERD meeting.
The committee looked at what neighbouring divisions charge for busing, and increased according to those findings. The increased fees still need to be approved by Alberta Education because it is more than a five per cent increase.
"We were quite low," said Starosielski, when speaking of the fees.
The board of trustees approved the following increases in fees for the 2018-19 School Year (all fees greater than five per cent are subject to approval from Alberta Education):
St. Paul In-Town Bussing fees for riders under 2.4 km the 2018-19 school year:
First seat
Full-time - from $130 to $140
Part-time - from $75 to $80
Family rate - from $315 to $340
Second seat
Full-time - from $80 to $86
Part-time - from $55 to $60
Third seat - same as the first seat rates
2018-19 School Year Yard Service fees were reviewed to increase revenue, but also to streamline and simplify administration. Fees include:
Year-Round a.m. and p.m. service - minimum $275 to a maximum of $500
Year-Round a.m. or p.m service only - minimum $175 to a maximum of $275
Winter Service (November 1 to March 31) - minimum $175 to a maximum of $275
Kindergarten only (half-time) - minimum $175 to a maximum of $275
Kindergarten winter service (half-time) - minimum $100 to a maximum of $150
"Some current users accessing the service this fall may actually see a slight reduction in fees with this more streamlined approach to fee assessment," said Starosielski, after the meeting.
Increases for local bus contractors were also approved at the April 11 board meeting. Rural contractors will receive a one per cent, one-time payment on their monthly basic rate. In-town contractors will receive a one per cent, one-time payment of their daily rate.
"These increases are for the 2017-18 school year only, but will hopefully assist our local contractors with increasing costs especially with the impact felt by the carbon tax," said Starosielski. "St Paul Education is concerned over the challenging transportation deficit that is $75 000 this current year and predicted to grow to $95 000 by next year. We will further review cost-saving measures during our upcoming budget planning for the 2018-19 school year."
