Pat and Cheryl Neville want their two sons to go to the same school on
the same bus.
But the Saskatchewan Central School Division will provide busing only
to those attending their designated school. That means the Neville boys
have to go to two different schools, one in Govan and one in Nokomis.
That led the Nevilles to lobby the school board to change boundaries.
“It’s the only option left to us,” said Pat.
The Nevilles’s youngest is in Grade 8 and can get bus service to nearby
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Govan School, which has about 55 students in kindergarten through Grade
9.
Students in older grades are able to choose between schools in
Strasbourg or Nokomis, Sask. The older Neville son, in Grade 11, chose
Nokomis, which has about 100 students in kindergarten through Grade 12.
As the bus was already taking him to Nokomis, the Nevilles wanted his
younger brother to ride with him each day. The local school council
refused their request on the grounds that a program existed for him in
Govan.
In a letter, Cheryl wrote, “the only concern put forward is not to lose
enrolment in the Govan School.
“The board states that it has made its final decision, but it is
unfortunate that it has lost sight of what is important in this whole
matter, and that is the kids and their right to have a good education.”
Ralph Eliasson, director of education for the school division, said
parents assume responsibility for transportation of their children when
they choose schools out of their district.
However, he said there are unique cases where the division pays to
transport kids who need specialized programs it does not offer.
Bus routes and school districts are mapped out based on financial
considerations, Eliasson said.
“Once you say yes to one kid, you have to say yes to all, and we can’t
afford it.”
Apart from differences in grades offered and school size, Eliasson said
the programs at Govan and Nokomis schools are similar.
“It’s basically the same program, different teachers.”
He said when the Nevilles chose to place their youngest son on the bus
to Nokomis alongside his brother, bus service was discontinued for both
boys.
“The board said ‘if you won’t comply with the rules, we’re not
providing any bus service,’ ” said Eliasson, citing insurance issues
for having unauthorized children on the bus.
The Nevilles say they chose Nokomis three years ago for the three boys
they then had in school. They thought its school population and staff
were more stable and that it offered a better quality of education for
their children. Govan stopped offering the high school grades two years
ago.
The family moved in 1997 to their Govan farm from Abbotsford, B.C.,
where Pat feels his children received a better education than in rural
Saskatchewan.
It’s been a stressful time for the family, which has suffered from
three years of poor crops and what Pat regards as disproportionately
large education taxes for farmers compared to town residents.
He said they now also have increased costs for operating an extra
vehicle to take the two boys to school each day.
The impending amalgamation of school boards will change division
boundaries, but local situations must still be considered, said John
Nikolejsin, president of the Saskatchewan School Trustees Association.
“We can’t have children on the bus for hours on end just because
there’s only 50 or 60 students in their school,” he said.
The objective of amalgamations is to increase populations within
divisions and make schools better able to provide more services and
classes for students, he said.
While closures of smaller schools are likely, he said new technologies
are available that could continue to provide service to isolated rural
schools.
By 2003, the number of school boards in Saskatchewan is expected to
drop by 25 percent to 70.
