Nanaimo school district’s transportation services could be due for a tune-up or overhaul.
The district spends more than it receives from the province busing students to and from school and a comprehensive review of the transportation department – with the help of a consultant – will get underway soon.
The review, initiated by school district management, will put transportation services under the microscope and explore whether service levels could be adjusted to achieve savings and efficiencies.
Phil Turin, secretary-treasurer, expects funding formula changes to leave the district almost $1 million short of a balanced budget next year, which means more savings and efficiencies are likely needed.
He said the transportation budget is targeted because the district spends about $250,000 more than the $1.285 million the province gives the district for those services.
“It’s a big area of our budget,” said Turin. “Over the years, our funding allocation has been below what we’ve been spending. We probably haven’t adjusted our transportation system in a while to changing needs in the district.”
The Education Ministry also announced that changes are coming to the transportation supplement and Turin predicts the district’s funding will drop further.
“I don’t have a crystal ball, but I’ll suggest we get less,” he said, adding the district is more accessible than some rural-based districts and the city bus service has expanded.
Turin said it is too early to tell if the idea of charging students for busing will come up again and it is unlikely recommendations will be available by budget time this spring, as staff have received responses to a request for proposals, but not evaluated them yet.
While district policy is to provide a school bus to students who live more than four kilometres from their school, it is not mandatory that districts provide busing.
In 2009, trustees talked about a staff proposal to charge between $10 and $20 a month per student. At the time, district officials estimated that charging $20 a month would make the operation break even.
The district is getting $250,000 from the province to buy two new 84-passenger buses, which will reduce the average age of the district's 29-bus fleet to 10 years from 11 years.
Turin said the new buses are not expected to save the district much money due to higher insurance costs and district officials have discovered the newer buses are more prone to needing the types of repairs not covered by warranty.
Trustee TerryLynn Saunders said in the past, the school board approved bus routes that were within the walk limits due to certain concerns such as children crossing a highway.
"I guess we'll have to see what the review says," she said, adding she's unsure how much appetite there would be if the review recommends charging for service.
"I can't speak for others, but we are one of the lowest socio-economic districts," said Saunders. "How can we make parents pay for busing when they can't buy milk?"