West End students destined for the new middle school next week have the option of taking a bus thanks to some dedicated parents.
Forty-six students were registered, as of Aug. 31, for the charter service, which was organized by Krista Burrows and Karla Gronsdahl. While that’s eight fewer than the pair had hoped for, they’ve decided to move ahead with the private bus starting Wednesday, Sept. 7.
But on Monday, city council approved a one-time grant of $5,000 to help parents pay for a private bus service for Fraser River Middle School for the 2016/17 school year. The funds will come out of the city’s special projects fund.
Burrows, who only learned about the city’s grant Wednesday morning, said they’ll use the money to keep the cost of the service to $75 a month for those who’ve registered so far. If there’s any cash leftover, they might put it towards reducing the costs even more.
At $229.95 per day for the bus rental, organizers had enough funds to run the bus until Dec. 13 without the extra help from the city. With the city money, the date could be extended, depending on how many more students sign up next week, Burrows said.
She hopes by then word of mouth will work its magic, and more parents will sign up for the service, so it can continue past the December deadline. It’s open to any West End students in grades 6 to 8 attending Fraser River Middle School.
Students headed to school will be picked up from Connaught Heights, Lord Tweedsmuir and Lord Kelvin elementary schools and dropped back off at the end of the day. The idea of a bus service was first floated in the community in May when some parents raised concerns about their kids having to walk more than four kilometres along busy streets to get to the new middle school at Queens Avenue and Eighth Street.
Parents can sign their kids up online. There is a $375 fee due at the time of registration. More information on the service, including when and where parents can pick up the tags students need to ride the bus, is expected within the next week. Go to www.fraserriverpac.ca for details.
– With files from Theresa McManus
