Clearview Public Schools trustees have voted in favour of establishing a new standard criteria for yard service, after considering the results of a survey sent out to families across the division.
A memo presented by associate superintendent Peter Neale at the board’s Thursday, Sept. 25 meeting, outlined the current situation and the feedback from the survey, sent out in July to 790 families.
The debate that followed was at times contentious, as trustees sought to strike a balance between student safety and the needs of families, versus the need to reduce costs and find efficiencies.
Board vice-chair Dave Goodwin moved to introduce a policy that would set a common criteria for yard service with one year given for its implementation. The motion carried, with trustees Yvette Cassidy and Cheri Neitz opposed.
For the 2014-2015 school year, the transportation services budget will have a deficit of $100,000 with no future reserves, despite having reduced the number of routes by two.
Cassidy said that distributing the survey in July guaranteed a lower response rate than if it had been sent out during the school year. Only 74 replies were received, a response rate of 9.4 per cent.
She also argued that the potential savings of eliminating or reducing yard service were not worth the inherent risk. She later added that yard service should be offered at the discretion of bus drivers, who are familiar with the routes.
“Picking up kids on Highway 56 is absolutely ludicrous,” she said. “It’s just not the risk of a child’s life.”
Neale countered that the division would not put students at risk and remarked that Clearview currently provides a ”very high level of yard service.”
The division’s current standard, in place for more than 15 years, has not been evenly enforced. Neale’s memo indicated that while 252 families, or 32 per cent, currently receive yard service, roughly 120 of those families, or 47 per cent, don’t meet the division’s current criteria.
The memo also estimated that the current yard services arrangement costs the division in excess of $42,000 annually and adds 16.8 hours to the division’s combined bus routes on a daily basis.
The board has discussed the matter at several meetings over the past year; an earlier survey was distributed in May.
The option presented to the board gave the following criteria for yard service: families whose driveways are long than 500 metres and where the youngest child is in Grade 2 or younger; students that qualify for special needs funding and require yard service; situations where yard service is required for operational purposes; situations where it is preferred due to traffic volume or visibility concerns.
Neale said that this option — a revised version of a proposal received by the board on April 24 — would be most responsive to the issues raised in the survey results, though it would offer the least financial benefit to the division.
Another option would be to grandfather the existing service and apply the approved criteria to all future requests, although Goodwin said this raised other concerns.
“There are situations out there where we don’t need yard services, period,” he said.
At the same time he emphasized the need for a prompt decision, as the issue had been on the table for an extended period.
Principles and priorities
Trustees finalized and approved the set of principles and priorities that will guide their work over the next three years.
Superintendent Peter Barron led the discussion at the Sept. 25 meeting, guiding trustees through the two lists that resulted from dialogue at previous meetings.
Barron said this would be the last opportunity to make adjustments to the lists, and that board members should aim for “clarity” as they made final changes.
In developing the principles and priorities, trustees drew upon conversations with communities and municipalities in the division, school councils and a trustees workshop held earlier in the year.
Board chair Ken Checkel said the trustees will continue to refer to these principles and priorities at future meetings, to ensure that the decisions being made will reflect the goals that have been established.
“As time goes forward, people will see that we actually meant what we said,” said Checkel.
The principles consist of a list of nine bullet points, starting with the board’s belief that a public school education is the best choice for students in the Clearview division.
According to the board, these principles represent the foundation on which it makes its decisions for the students of Clearview.
The priorities consist of six items, which are to form the focus of the division’s strategic planning for the remainder of the term.
The items are as follows: create a “first choice” learning environment; hire and inspire quality staff; revisit Clearview’s foundational statements; continue focus on communication and engagement; maintain small schools in the division; maintain a predictable funding allocation structure.
Senior division administrators have been tasked with developing an action plan, consisting of initiatives and timelines that will address these priorities. The action plan should be ready for the Oct. 23 board meeting.