StettlerLocal.com from Clearview Public Schools
Clearview is pleased to share that there will be a change in 2023-24 to provide enhanced transportation services to more families, and without a fee. The Province of Alberta has changed the threshold at which it will provide funding to school divisions for busing.
What are the new eligibility guidelines? Previously, school divisions received transportation funding for students whose residence was 2.4 km or greater from their designated school. That distance has been changed to:
1.0 km or greater for K-6 students
2.0 km or greater for Grade 7-12 students
This means that more students are categorized as ‘eligible’ riders, which potentially means that more students will be riding the bus. As an additional service to our families, the Board of Trustees has extended the service to also provide students in Grade 7 to Grade 12, who reside over 1.0 km from their designated school, in-town busing without a fee. Starting September 2023, there will no longer be an in-town busing fee for any Clearview student. Currently, Clearview has 44 bus routes which travel over 7,500 km per day. Approximately 1200 students are bussed daily, making up 53% of Clearview’s student population. With the additional routes and riders Clearview anticipates that it will have 46 routes and 1550 riders in the 2023-24 school year. Determining bus routes and pick up / drop off times is a complex process involving many students, families, drivers, schools, and communities.
“We would ask families to be patient with us as we work through the new routing,” says Maryann Wingie, Director of Transportation, Clearview Public Schools. “We will be working hard to ensure that everything runs smoothly, but in the event of an error we would encourage families to contact us with their concern.” Who needs to register for busing? We are asking any family that believes their child should now be eligible for in-town transportation to register their children, and to register as soon as possible. This will ensure we are planning for all students in the event busing is needed for a child at any time during the year. To clarify, all in-town students need to register, even if they took the bus prior while only new rural students need to register for busing. We encourage families to register their students for busing as soon as possible, as new provincial guidelines mean that more students are now eligible to ride the bus and funding for busing is dependent on students registered for transportation services. How do I register for busing? Busing registration for 2023-24 is now open. To register, families can either print off the form HERE, fill it out, and return it to our office via Email (mwingie@clearview.ab.ca) or they can register on-line HERE. Once the initial registration has taken place, we will send out notices in late August with pick-up and drop-off times and bus stop locations. If you have any questions, please contact our Transportation Office at (403) 742-6192 Ext. 1.