School districts learning to share

Come September 2015, the wheels on Edmonton’s yellow school buses will be going around and round with groups of public and Catholic school students riding together to their respective schools.

Though the idea of Catholic and public schoolchildren sharing a bus won’t seem like a radical idea to many Edmontonians, the decision by the respective school boards to endorse a joint student transportation authority is a groundbreaking move for two districts that have operated in silos. Though the two districts have consulted with each other over the years here and there, district resources rarely have blended in a significant way.

After a year of study, the two boards agreed last week to set up the Edmonton Student Transportation Authority, which will be a distinct legal entity with equal representation from the two districts. This will be the province’s first such transportation consortium and according to the report, the strategy should save $2.5 million annually on transportation, mean shorter ride times for many children and allow for fewer buses on the road.

A plan that will save money and time, and spare the environment from some exhaust fumes? Hallelujah! What’s not to like? The only question is: What on earth took them so long?

For a host of reasons — historical, constitutional and religious — Alberta is a province with distinct public and Catholic boards, not to mention francophone school districts, private schools and charter schools.

But in Edmonton, public and Catholic schools often sit a stone’s throw from each other, connected by playing fields or sidewalks, which makes it only logical to provide a shared bus ride to children in the same neighbourhood.

Collaborating on busing will not be without consequences. For one, it will mean schools in the two districts will have to improve co-ordination on issues such as scheduling. Principals and district officials will have to work together to stagger hours and collaborate to adjust early dismissal days.

The report to the board notes setting of bell times is currently left up to schools. That may have to change so that buses can deliver and pick up students at different schools in a logical way. It seems a reasonable price to pay for the other benefits.

For years, education ministers have urged districts to work together at a local level to make the most of scarce funding. This latest move by Edmonton’s public and Catholic boards gives us faith more sensible sharing can take place between them in the future. And to think, it didn’t take a miracle.