Superintendent’s Report

March 20, 2013

To: Board of TrusteesNote: 1120 – 1145 Hours

From: Cory Gray, Superintendent of Schools

Subject: Cooperative Bussing

Originator: Gail Prokopchuk, Director of Transportation Services

RECOMMENDATION

That the Board receive the Cooperative Bussing report, as information.

REPORT

Background:

In order to provide students with equal access to educational opportunities, the Board’s aim is to provide a safe, effective and efficient transportation system for students.

Policy 17 Student Transportation Services

Article 3

Cross-Boundary Bussing – The Board may decide to provide transportation to students who wish to attend a school other than their designated attendance area school in accordance with the requirements of the Superintendent or designate.

Article:

3.1 Cross-Boundary Bussing will be provided only if:

3.1.1There is seat space available on the school bus;

3.1.2There is no diversion of the bus from the regular route;

3.1.3There is space in the receiving school and permission has been received from the Principal for the student to attend; and

3.1.4The fee for transportation services has been paid.

3.2Parents or guardians shall submit an application to the Superintendent or designate for permission for their child/children to ride a bus providing cross-boundary transportation.

3.3Not withstanding the above, kindergarten to grade nine students from Niton, Wildwood and Evansburg Schools will not be transported outside their attendance areas

3.4Not withstanding the above, kindergarten to grade six students from Fulham School will not be transported outside of their attendance area

Policy 17

Article:

8.All transportation fees are set annually by the Board to pay for the funding shortfall due to the difference between the budgeted cost incurred by the Board for regular route operations and Alberta Education transportation grants.

8.5Transportation fees collection will be consistent with school fees. Transportation fees are as follows:

8.5.1Cross-boundary student: $77.00 per student (Family max $231.00)

The Divisionhassixtransportation agreements with other Boards:

  1. Parkland School Division
  2. Northland School Division
  3. Yellowhead Koinonia Christian School (YKCS)
  4. Living Waters Catholic School Division
  5. Evergreen Catholic Separate Regional Division
  6. Town of Hinton – (Handi-bus)

Alberta Education offers Boards, who choose to consolidate transportation needs, additional funding through the Cooperative bussing program. To be eligible for additional funding under this option GYPSD must have cooperative bussing agreements in place with other Boards who enter into the agreement.

Cooperative bussing is defined as“To promote fiscal responsibility through sharing the cost of transportation service, or reduce overall costs, by consolidating the transportation services of 2 or more jurisdictions”. Generally speaking, under most agreements, funding goes to the Jurisdiction providing the service.

In past years GYPSD has worked with other divisions under a cooperative bussing agreement. Although agreements are in place, many were put in place prior to 2005 and reflect old policies, procedures and legislation. They arehowever, broad enoughto accommodate changes in circumstances such as student demographics, route direction and number of students assigned to each route.

Context of the Report:

Information contained in this report is presented as information and update as to the status of the cooperative bussing agreements currently in place with other school boards. Bus route and number of students transported are based on current enrollments unless otherwise stated.

Students transported under a cooperative bussing agreement are claimed on the GYPSD transportation funding application under Code 5. Below is the number of each student type claimed for the 2012-2013 school year.

Student Types / Definition
Code 1 / 1853 / Eligible student being transported to their designated school
Code 2 / 484 / Eligible student being transported to a school of choice
Code 3 / 0
Code 4 / 0
Code 5 / 38 / Eligible students of another board being transported to their designated school
Code 6 / 0
Code 7 / 2 / Non-resident student accessing the Boards transportation system
Code 8 / 312 / Ineligible students transported
Total / 2689 / Based on September 30th enrollments

*Eligible – Resident student of the Board who resides 2.4 kms or more from the designated school

*Ineligible – Resident student who resides less than 2.4 kms from the designated school

1. Parkland School Division #70

Our agreement with Parkland SD in the Evansburg area is a reciprocal cooperative effort as our routes transport students from the Evansburg area and transfer to a route that services EntwistleSchool. Parkland school bus routes transport Grand Trunk and Evansview students from areas east of Entwistleto Evansburg.

The agreement with Parkland School Division was approved on January 18, 1996. This joint agreement is not time specific and will be reviewed if deemed necessary by either jurisdiction. Under this agreement:

  • 25 students from Parkland School Division (Entwistle) are transported to Evansburg
  • 19 students to Grand Trunk High School
  • 6 to Evansview School
  • 6 students are transported to Entwhistle School on 1 bus route operated by GYPSD

There are no additional fees charged, but funding for the respective student flows to the jurisdiction providing the transportation service.

LOBSTICK ATTENDANCE BOUNDARY - Showing Entwistle location outside of GYPSD

2. Northland School Division #61

The existing agreement with Northland School Division #61has been in place since September 1, 1992. This agreement no longer supports the current bussing arrangements with Northland School Division.

The agreement does have provisions for the hot lunch program offered by Northland School Division in Grande Cache.GYPSD provides transportation for 8 students to attend the hot lunch program.

  • Grande Yellowhead is currently transporting 29students, on 1 bus route, from Victor Lake to the Grande Cache schools
  • Northland transports3 students on 2 bus routes, to Grande Cache schools from Wanyandi,Grande Cache Lake, Suza Creek and the Joachim Co-Op areas

Northland School Divisionpreviously had threebus routes that service schools to Grande Cache and Susa Creek. During the past year, one of their drivers has resigned and a replacement driver has not been put in place. As a result, students being transported to GYPSD schools by NorthlandSchool Division are being impacted with early pick-up and drop-off times. Northland School Division will continue to look for a replacement driver.

This arrangement is unique as GYPSD area is limited around Grande Cache. As a result boundaries are perceived to be more fluid and expansive than they really are (see map below), which causes confusion in resident Board and designated school. This is complicated furtherby the fact that Susa Creek School only goes to Grade 8, and their students attend Grande Cache Community High School for grades 9 through 12.

First Nations/Reserve Students are not eligible for transportation funding and Boards who choose to transport would be required to bill the Band for the cost of transportation. There are no additional fees charged to Northland School Division, other than cost for transportationfor the Hot Lunch Program.

GRANDE CACHE ATTENDANCE BOUNDARY – Showing Northland Settlements/Reserves

3. Yellowhead Koinonia Christian School

The current agreement with Yellowhead Koinonia Christian School (YKCS) has been in place since August 31, 2004. The agreement no longer supports current funding criteria for students attending a private school and references outdated information such as addresses and policies.

The Board's agreement with YKCS provides bussing for rural students to a private school. Under Alberta Education guidelines, only ECS students riding a bus to the private school are eligible for transportation funding. To offset the transportation costs of students, GYPSD invoices Koinonia for fees at $300.00 per student, per year. A family rate of $900.00 is available for parents with more than 3 children.

  • Under this agreement,we have 9 routes in the Edson area that transport 26 studentsto Parkland Composite where they are transferred to 1 bus route that that services Koinonia School
  • There is no attendance boundary applied to Yellowhead Koinonia Christian School

4. Living Waters Catholic Regional Division #42

The existing agreement with Living Waters has been in effect since September 1, 2004. The agreement references to the old division name and policies, although it does meet the current transportation service provided to Living Waters

The Board entered into a cooperative bussing agreement with Living Waters which encompasses the Edson rural area. GYPSDtransports Living Watersstudents to Holy Redeemer Jr/Sr High and Vanier Community Catholic.

  • 29 Bus routes provide service
  • 283students transported
  • 24are resident students of Living Waters

There are no additional fees charged, but funding for the respective student flows to the jurisdiction providing the transportation service.

LIVING WATERS ATTENDANCE BOUNDARY

5. Evergreen Catholic Regional Division #2

The agreement with Evergreen has been in effect since August 28, 2005. The agreement referencesthe old division name and policies, but does meet the current transportation service provided to Evergreen Catholic Regional Division.

The Board has entered into a cooperative bussing agreement with Evergreen which encompasses Hinton and a portion of the surrounding rural area. GYPSD transports ECRD students to Gerard Redmond and St Gregory Catholic schools in Hinton.

During the past year there has been some discussion with Evergreen Administration regarding theiradditional contracted servicewhich operates in Hintonand Folding Mountain as this has created an overlap in service with the contractor. This arrangement is not operating outside the scope of the agreement but does require discussion with Evergreen Administration to clarify eligible students as defined under the agreement.

  • 2 Bus routestransport students to Mountainview School who are transferred to 1 route that services the Catholic schools
  • 16 students are transported under the agreement.

There are no additional fees charged, but funding for the respective student flows to the jurisdiction providing the transportation service.

EVERGREEN ATTENDANCE BOUNDARY

6. Town of Hinton

The Board has a renewable annual agreement with the Town of Hinton. The agreement encompasses transportation service and management of the bus route for special needs students within the Town of Hinton.

A request from the Town to consider a three year contract has been made. The current contract is in effect from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012. The Director of Transportation Services is currently preparing for review of the 2013 contract. It is not unusual that the contract is renewed retroactively when prior year operating costs must be considered before the contract may be presented by the Town.

Annual fees for transporting approved students on the handi-bus in Hinton are based on usage of service by GYPSD students. Fees are calculated using annual budgeted costs of the previous year’s expenses. The agreement for the 2012-2013 year saw a 20% increase from the previous year.

2011 $50,234.00

2012 $60,163.00

Special Needs Transportation Services

The Administration, in reviewing operations over the past year, notes that the Handi-bus servicein Hinton is unique, and that the Division has not contracted for Handi-bus services in other communities. That being said, the Division does transport 1 wheelchair student on a bus route equipped with a wheelchair lift, in Grande Cache.

Several requests for “special transportation” in Edson, one being a request for wheelchair service in 2013, has prompted the Director of Transportation Services to review the level of service required across the division, costs associated with the service and the possible implementation of a handi-bus service in Edson.

Funding for special needs students is available for Transportation Departments with the expectation that the division will provide or arrange for the transportation of these students. This may includenecessary Aides or monitors who may ride the school bus with the student. Currently students with severe needs are either transported on a regular bus route, on the handi-bus in Hinton or have entered into a parent provided agreement with GYPSD for the transport of their own child.

.

In recent years,Transportation departments across the Province have struggled to develop safe practices for transporting students with special needs or those with severe conditions that require extra attention while riding the school bus route. GYPSD has seen a slight increase over the last 3 years (see chart below) which is not alarming but what is problematic, is the bus driver’s ability to transport students with special needs and continue to operate the bus with their attention still focused on driving.

The Transportation department has developed a “Special Transportation” program to help transition students with severe special needs, onto the school bus. The program also offers drivers, when possible, the opportunity to become orientated with the student and their needs, before they begin riding the school bus. This has been done to balance the efficiency in transportation operations with the inability to create an economy of scale on our own.

2010-11 Transported Students / 2011-12 Transported Students / 2012-13 Transported Students
Wheelchair / 1 / Wheelchair / 1 / Wheelchair / 1
Teacher Aide / 0 / Teacher Aide / 1 / Teacher Aide / 1
Code 41 / 0 / Code 41 / 0 / Code 41 / 0
Code 42 / 78 / Code 42 / 66 / Code 42 / 77
Code 43 / 7 / Code 43 / 9 / Code 43 / 11
Code 44 / 36 / Code 44 / 34 / Code 44 / 45
Code 46 / 0 / Code 46 / 0 / Code 46 / 1

Fees for Cross Boundary Transportation

8.5.1Cross-boundary student: $77.00 per student (Family max $231.00)

All cooperative bussing agreements have provisions for funding or the implementation of fees in the event the Board deems it necessary to recoup costs. The chart below shows the 2010 survey results on fees for cooperative bussing, charged by other Boards in the Province.

*Data was compiled through a survey by the Student Transportation Association of Alberta

Conclusion:

Cooperative bussing agreements are a collaborative effort between Boards and require much planning. Results can produce one of the most effective transportation systems in the school bus industry. Alberta Education provides additional funds for Boards who enter into cooperative agreements.

Transporting students under a cooperative bussing agreement provides revenue to GYPSD that we would not normally receive if each board approached this separately. Operating one primary bussing authority in an area demonstrates efficient use of funding dollarsand eliminates the need for other buses driving the same routes to service schools of that Board.

Although signed agreements are in place with each of the cooperative Boards, they do require updating.

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