St. Ann principals want consultation on rural school bus system

 

School administrators in St. Ann are calling for consultation with principals and improved scheduling as the rollout of the rural school bus service continues.

 

They are also calling for adequate signage and labelling of the buses.

 

Principal of Brown's Town High, Alfred Thomas, said the first bus arrived late on Tuesday morning. 

 

"The first bus came here at about 10 minutes to 8, which meant that our students would have been late, and there were a few students in those buses. So we saw three buses coming within a five-minute span and they had fewer students than they transported yesterday. And I'm assuming the reason for that would have been the timing that they came because school starts at 7, so most of the students would have been here by the latest 7:30. So for a bus to be coming at quarter to 8, 8:50, then it would not have a lot of our students on board," Mr. Thomas pointed out. 

 

He continued: "We need to have students transported to school safely and punctually. It can work. I think there needs to be some logistics worked out regarding the timing for some of the buses because yesterday I saw a bus parked at my gate at 3:30. My afternoon shift students would have been in class at that time so there would be no students for them to transport."

 

Principal of York Castle High School, Raymond Treasure, lamented that some students are not effectively benefitting from the rural school bus service.

 

Noting that some parents spend up to $15,000 per month for contracted buses, Mr. Treasure suggested that the rural school bus system - which will be free until November and cost around $2,000 per month after that - will indeed be beneficial, but students most in need of transportation should registered for the government-run service. 

 

"Current arrangement is not that sustainable in the sense that a student who travelled from say Runaway Bay, there's no guarantee that tomorrow or the next day they'll get on the bus because the bus probably will leave say Ocho Rios full, you know. So the first day, yes, it probably didn't travel with many students but I am sure by the second, the third day more students will get involved in the process. So involve the principals and allow us to select the students who we think should travel, so that those who really need the service will benefit," he proposed. 

 

Mr. Treasure said the school supports the government's rural bus system and will be helping to ensure its success.