ATHABASCA – Parents who pay for bussing for their students despite living close to schools are going to notice an increase on their bills in 2024-2025 after Aspen View board trustees voted to raise the non-eligible rider fee and the alternative/reserved rider fee.
During their April 4 meeting, trustees had a brief discussion around transportation fees after administrative staff said Aspen View was both struggling to stay under the transportation budget and charging less than its peers.
“When the fees were reviewed, the committee did look at close to ten school divisions, both surrounding us and with comparable transportation areas. They found that the fees we have are way low,” said secretary treasurer Amber Oko.
Both categories are increasing by $50, going from $150 to $200 for the upcoming year. To help mitigate the costs for certain families, there will be a per-family maximum of $500, so families with more than three kids won’t be disproportionately affected.
“We’ve always been known for having extremely low fees for several years,” said vice-chair Anne Karczmarczyk. “Looking at other school divisions, we needed to be comparable to alleviate some of our expenditures.
“I guess the word is fair, but we really needed to address those fees.”
Non-eligible riders are defined as K-6 students who live within one kilometre of their school or Grades 7-12 students who live within two kilometres of the school. Alternative/reserved second-seat riders are students who request a different seat on a bus than their designated route.
Board chair Candy Nikipelo added her support for the motion, which passed unanimously — although trustee Dennis MacNeil was absent — calling the move a very moderate increase.
“I think that moderate is exactly the word that was used. It isn’t a significant increase that’s going to be unmanageable for families,” she said.
In her financial report delivered earlier in the meeting, Oko said that transportation costs were at 61.75 per cent of the budgeted total, instead of the 60 per cent it should have been at as of Feb. 29.
The only concern from trustees came from April Bauer, who wondered if the move would cause an increase in traffic if parents opted to drive the students themselves.
“I could see it if we took that fee and we tripled it or significantly increased it, maybe there would be an increase in people driving their kids to alleviate it, but I think this is a moderate increase,” said trustee Donna Cherniwchan.
Editors Note: The print version of this story contained an error. Aspen View's transportation costs should have been at 60 per cent of budget as stated in this version of the story.
