FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 2, 2004

Student safety is always a top priority with bus routes
Transporting students safely to and from school is the most important job our transportation department does. With that in mind, staff at Tri-Board Student Transportation Services have done their best to communicate changes regarding staggered bell times and route optimizations which are scheduled for the first day of school, September 7, 2004.

This year, new bus routes will be rolled out for the vast majority of students in the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board (ALCDSB) and the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board (HPEDSB). The exception is in North Hastings where bus routes and school times remain unchanged.

Officials at both school boards and Tri-Board Student Transportation Services say that bus routes have been carefully planned with children’s safety in mind. “Everything is on track and we are ready for the first day of school,” explained Steve Wowk, manager of Tri-Board Student Transportation Services. “Even so, we ask that parents and guardians be patient next week. If they have concerns, we want to hear from them, so we can address their issues sooner rather than later.”

In May, the boards of trustees for the ALCDSB and the HPEDSB recommended the implementation of bus route optimizations and staggered bell times for the 2004-2005 school year. The decision was a difficult one for trustees as they weighed the advantages and disadvantages. Fifty-five of the 72 Boards in the province have already adopted a staggered bell time approach and are achieving much needed economic efficiencies.

This decision to optimize bus routes and implement staggered bell times has been proven locally to:

• Reduce ride times in the vast majority of cases
• Put more money back into grassroots classroom programs
• Offer better service to students who have to transfer buses, such as students who are enrolled in French Immersion
• Significantly lower costs while maintaining safe, secure and on-time transportation of students
• Allow the boards to “double run” many buses by picking up secondary students on the first run, then elementary students on the second run
• Put newer buses on the roads

Under the new plan, the majority of elementary schools will begin at 9:15 a.m. and end at 3:45 p.m. Secondary schools will begin at 8:15 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m. There are some exceptions to this general rule but by now all parents should have received confirmation of bus routes and timing information.

It is important to note that there are no changes in the walking distances as a result of the staggered bell initiative. The current Walking Policy for ALCDSB and HPEDSB is as follow:

In designing routes and preparing time schedules, Tri-Board Student Transportation Services has drawn upon the experiences of numerous school boards in Ontario, including the two boards in the eastern portion of Tri-Board’s jurisdiction where the route optimization and staggered bells approach has been in place for the past 10 years.

Parents and guardians who have inquiries about their child’s transportation arrangements are encouraged to contact Tri-Board Student Transportation Services at 1 866 569-6638 or
(613) 354-1981.

Tri-Board Student Transportation Services transports 38,000 students to 164 schools, travelling over 97,000 kilometres daily, covering an area of 16,000 kilometres.

The Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board covers 16,134 square kilometers from Seeley’s Bay in the east to Trenton in the west to Picton in the south and Whitney near Algonquin Park in the north. The Board’s 14,705 students are educated in five secondary schools, 36 elementary schools and one Adult Learning Centre with six annexes. The system employs over 1,900 full, part-time and occasional teachers and support staff.

The Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board has 46 elementary and eight secondary schools serving 18,700 students, employing 1,067 teachers and 775 support staff. The Board covers a wide geographical area of 7,221 square kilometres bordered by Maynooth to the north, Deseronto to the east, Prince Edward County to the south, and Quinte West to the west.

For more information, contact:
• Bob Koubsky, Superintendent of Finance and Business Services, Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board 613-354-2255 ext. 436 or 1-800-581-1116 ext. 436

• Chris Salt, Superintendent of Operations and Human Resources, Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board, (613) 966-1170 ext. 2281 or 1-800-267-4350, ext. 2281

• Steve Wowk, Manager of Tri-Board Student Transportation Services, 613-354-1981 or
1-866-569-6638, ext. 324