NOTICE TO PARENTS AND STUDENTS 2009/10 - School Bus Transportation (May 7, 2009)
Each year, changing demographics require that School District No. 23 Transportation department refine our eligible School Bus Transportation routes. This year the addition of the new Chute Lake Elementary School has also caused the reconfiguration of the elementary routes in the Mission area. All routes are designed to service eligible children. (“Eligible” is defined as children in Kindergarten to Grade 3 who live beyond 4.0 km or further from their “neighborhood school”, and beyond 4.8 km for students in Grades 4 through grade 12.) “Courtesy” riders are those children who live closer than the above mentioned transportation eligibility limits. Courtesy riders are only offered seats, when available, up to the existing capacity of the scheduled bus. Requests
for courtesy ridership are prioritized on a furthest distance basis.
To confirm eligibility simply use the Edulog Web Query. Enter your home address and September 2009 grade level to determine eligibility.
For September 2009, payment of a Student Transportation charge will be required before a SD23 School Bus Pass will be issued. The cost is $200 per student for the entire 2009/10 school year. Payment information is being finalized and will be added to our web site in the next few weeks.
In order to ensure as easy as possible transition into the new school year, we advise the following:
Student Status |
Notes |
Current 2008 Registered Eligible School Bus Riders who will be returning to the same school in Sept 09 Applies to eligible students currently registered and riding on a SD23 school bus (as of May 1, 2009) |
Assuming your student’s school has been kept up to date with your mailing address, you will receive a letter advising of the stop and time estimated for your service next year. This will be contingent on you paying the Student Transportation charge before the deadline and thereby confirming the student’s seat on the school bus for next year. Payment details are being finalized and will be communicated in the next few weeks. Should you not have received a letter by May 15, 2009 and feel you are in this category, please call the Transportation department directly at the number listed below. |
New Eligible student, or an Eligible student transitioning to a new school. Applies to any eligible student who currently is not registered on a bus, or a student that is going to a different school in September 2009 |
You need to complete a 2009/10 school bus trasnportation request form that can be found on this website and submit for approval. Once approved, the student will receive stop information for next year and can proceed to make payment of the Student Transportation charge to confirm a seat on the bus for September. Payment details are being finalized and will be communicated in the next few weeks. Should you not have received confirmation within 10 working days (and you are an eligible student), please call the Transportation department directly at the number listed below. |
Current 2008 Registered Courtesy School Bus Riders who will be returning to the same school in Sept 09. This applies only to courtesy riders who are registered and riding a bus as of May 1, 2009. |
Assuming your student’s school has been kept up to date with your mailing address, you will receive one of the following letters: 1) If there is additional seating after all the eligible students are accounted for, you will receive a letter advising of the stop and time estimated for your service next year. This will be contingent on you paying the Student Transportation charge before the deadline and thereby confirming the student’s seat on the school bus for next year. Payment details are being finalized and will be communicated in the next few weeks. If you have not received a letter by
May 15, 2009 and feel you are in this category, please call the Transportation department directly at the number listed below. 2) If there is not additional seating after all the eligible students and furthest out courtesy riders are accounted for, you will receive a letter advising that we do not have a seat for your child on the bus and that you will need to submit a new school bus transportation request form to get a spot on the wait list should a seat open up in the future. If you have not received a letter by May 15, 2009 and feel you are in this category, please call the Transportation department directly at the number listed below. |
Existing Additional Service Route Riders This applies to the students on courtesy only additional routes arranged for and paid by a small number of PAC’s |
This is the old User Pay routes that supplement the regular system where buses are available and have the full costs paid for by the PACs. (If you don’t know what this is, you are probably not one of these riders and can skip this section.) Assuming your student’s school has been kept up to date with your mailing address, you will receive a letter advising that you need to work with your school’s PAC to secure seating for the new year. We expect to again be able to provide this additional service, but will need to have this confirmed and paid for by your PAC. If you have not received a
letter by May 15, 2009 and feel you are in this category, please call the Transportation department directly at the number listed below. |
New Courtesy Riders Students who reside within the transportation eligibility limits who are not currently riding a SD23 school bus, but wish to be considered on a wait list for any available seats in the 2009/10 school year. |
You must fill in the school bus transportation request form and submit to the Transportation Department. Arrange alternative transportation and do not show up for bus transportation on the 1st day of school. New courtesy ridership will be assessed based on availability of seating and then prioritized by distance from school. New courtesy riders will be notified by the Transportation office as soon as possible if there are any seats available. |
French Immersion Students |
Transportation is only provided to students attending their neighbourhood school. If your neighbourhood school is the French Immersion School, please follow the guidelines for the applicable item above. |
Kindergarten Students 2009/10 |
Kindergarten routes will be determined on an “as required” basis typically by the middle of September. |
Route stop times and locations are listed for initial planning purposes for parents of confirmed registered riders. Routes will continue to be optimized and altered to reflect changing demographics.
To ensure fairness in service delivery, SD23 staff verifies student addresses before the final bus ridership lists are confirmed. Unfortunately, students that do not qualify as “Eligible” or furthest distance “Courtesy” (when seating available) will not be provided with a bus pass for service on regularly scheduled SD23 school buses.
Please feel free to contact your local school or School District 23 Transportation Services at 250-491-4040 with any questions.
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