News Archive

​PDF of News Release

CALGARY – The CBE will engage with parents, staff, students and community members as it develops a master strategy for student transportation.

At the beginning of the 2015-16 school year, concerns were raised after changes were made to the travel distance from homes to bus stops for some students. The CBE responded and took the necessary steps to ensure that all students riding yellow school buses could access stops no more than 1.6 and 1.8 km from home respectively for elementary and junior high students. This was a one-year solution. Now the CBE is working with parents, students, staff and other stakeholders to develop a sustainable, long-term transportation strategy.

“We know our transportation service doesn’t work for some of our families and it is financially unsustainable for the CBE. We want to work together with parents, students, staff and community members to develop a long-term, sustainable transportation strategy,” said Board Chair Joy Bowen-Eyre.

For the 2016-17 school year, the CBE is anticipating a $13.2 million budget gap between provincial funding and the costs of delivering transportation services to students at current levels. In December 2015, the CBE contracted leading experts in the field to conduct a technical review regarding how transportation services are delivered. The findings of the review will help frame conversations during engagement sessions with the public.

“All families could be impacted by the choices we make. Decisions will affect not only transportation services, but also our budget. This means that we need to hear from both the families of students who use transportation and those who don’t,” said Chief Superintendent David Stevenson.

In-person engagement sessions are planned for the public to share their perspectives. We will be hosting workshops from 7 – 8:30 p.m. in each of our five areas across the city as follows:

Transportation Small Group Workshops

Wednesday, April 6, 7-8:30 p.m.

• Tom Baines School, 250 Edgepark Blvd. N.W.
• Captain Nichola Goddard School, 405 Panatella Blvd. N.W.
• Crossing Park School, 500 Martindale Blvd. N.E.
• Ernest Manning High School, 20 Springborough Blvd. S.W.
• Centennial High School, 55 Sun Valley Blvd. S.E.

Thursday, April 7, 7-8:30 p.m.

• Sir Winston Churchill High School, 5220 Northland Dr. N.W.
• Sir John A. Macdonald High School, 6600 4 St. N.W.
• Dr. Gordon Higgins School, 155 Rundlehill Dr. N.E.
• Western Canada High School, 641 – 17 Ave. S.W.
• Dr. E.P. Scarlett High School, 220 Canterbury Dr. S.W.

Tuesday, April 12, 7-8:30 p.m.

• Thomas B. Riley School, 3915 69 St. N.W.
• William Aberhart High School, 3009 Morley Tr. N.W.
• Lester B. Pearson High School, 3020 52 St. N.E.
• Central Memorial High School, 5111 21 St. S.W.
• David Thompson School, 9320 Arbour Cres. S.E.

At these sessions the CBE will gather feedback on:

• Travel distances from home to bus stop
• Bus ride time
• Eligibility for yellow bus ridership
• Number and location of bus stops
• User fees
• Access to waivers
• Low ridership routes
• Bell times
• Two-year or three-year implementation plan for changes

Community Forums

Saturday, April 16, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

• Three community forums will take place in three different locations. These locations are still being confirmed.
• These forums will provide options for stakeholders to discuss and consider based on the input provided in the workshops.

A representative stakeholder advisory committee, consisting of internal and external stakeholders, has also been formed to help guide and support this engagement.

In May 2016, the CBE will communicate decisions on 2016-17 service levels and/or fee adjustments.

The public is encouraged to find more information and provide online feedback through the CBE website at cbe.ab.ca/dialogue.