In its latest update on the ongoing school bus transportation disruption, local school boards have announced the dollar figures for subsidies that will be made available to affected families.
Families eligible for transportation will have the ability to receive a subsidy to help with the additional costs they have been facing, say officials.
The subsidy will be application-based and families will receive a flat rate based on the distance between their pickup address and school. Those 0-10 kilometres away will receive $25 per week; 11-30 km $50; 31-50 km $75; 51-70 $100; and more than 71 $125.
School board officials say the details on the application process will be out as soon as possible.
“We understand that while this subsidy may be helpful, families would prefer that buses were running as normal. We agree, and believe families and students deserve to know exactly how far we have been prepared to go so we could get school buses running for our students,” reads the correspondence sent Friday afternoon (Oct. 4).
They say they were disappointed to learn that Wednesday’s meeting between the Renfrew County Joint Transportation Consortium (RCJTC) and school bus operators did not result in an agreement.
“Given this development, next week we will be sending out a survey to gather feedback on what can be done at our schools to make the drop-off and pick-up process more supportive and efficient for families and students, while keeping student safety as a top priority,” reads the update.
(Written by Sherry Haaima)