RVS Transportation CONSULTATION

Transcription

1 RVS Transportation CONSULTATION Student Transportation Public Consultation - Phase II From January 5 to February 16, 018, Rocky View Schools (RVS) Board of Trustees engaged its school communities in a Level public consultation to address an anticipated revenue shortfall of $1 million in its student transportation portfolio. Based on the International Association of Public Participation (IAP) model, Level : Consult defines that the Board will seek public feedback, acknowledge concerns and aspirations, and report back to the public how its feedback influenced decisions. The final decision, however, rests with the Board. To guide its decision-making, the Board established and communicated three planning principles: Transportations services will continue to be safe for students. All communities will share the responsibility for balancing the transportation deficit. No educational program offerings will be affected. Phase I - To build awareness of RVS budget and operational challenges related to student transportation, Phase I of the consultation saw public meetings held in the City of Airdrie, Town of Cochrane, and City of Chestermere, presentations made by Trustees at school council meetings, and parents and staff asked to prioritize seven cost saving options and a proposal to transfer up to $1 million from RVS instructional budget, as outlined in a four-page communique and an online survey. The survey also provided participants an opportunity to include feedback on the issue through a open-ended comment section. Phase II - The Board received public delegations at its March 1 Board meeting and is employing a second survey outlining transportation bundles on March 1-0, along with the results of its first survey and a Q & A, which responds to the comments and questions received during Phase I of the consultation. These items have been sent to all RVS parents, staff, and made available to Calgary Catholic School District parents whose children attend Catholic schools within RVS boundaries. Phase I Results - Online Survey Open from January 5 to February 15, the first of two surveys yielded 1,97 parent responses and 58 staff responses. The cost-saving measures stakeholders identified as being in their top three or top four preferences, as well as the maximum amount of instructional dollars transferred to transportation are outlined on the following pages.

2 Cost Saving Measures - Online SURVEY Results 1 Pick up urban students to fill rural buses Refrain from entering rural cul-de-sacs unless the length exceeds 800 m (currently 400 m) & Longer bus ride time (approx. 15 min.) for rural students from North of Cochrane and from rural Airdrie and Chestermere. 54% 69% 6% 75%

3 4 triple runs in urban communities (schools start and end within a one-hour, 0 min. window of each other, e.g., 8 to 9:0 am) 69% 79% between 8 and 9:0 am. % 47% $400,000

4 5 Create consistent school finish times from Monday to Friday by eliminating early dismissal Fridays 6 Move closest bus stop to.4 km from all urban schools (currently 1.5 km for K-8 and km for 9-1 schools) $50,000 $0,000 routines. 47% 57% More parents may choose to drive children to school, increasing traffic congestion. 1% 4%

5 Increase rural school bus morning and afternoon ride times from approx. 60 minutes to 90 minutes 7 $100,000 Rural students may be required to ride the bus for up to 180 minutes ( hours) each day. 6% 11% Transfer from Instruction - Online SURVEY Results In relation to how many dollars the public felt was acceptable to transfer from instruction to transportation, results revealed: 8 Dollars to Be Transferred From Instruction to Transportation RANK 1 Zero dollars 68% Up to $50,000 17% Up to 500,000 10% 4 Up to $750,000 % 5 Up to $1 million % Open-Ended Comments - Major Themes Major themes outlined by stakeholders in response to the survey s open-ended question, Is there other feedback you would like to provide the Board of Trustees relative to student transportation? : Reduce the number of school days. Find the $1 million through transportation efficiencies, not through a transfer of dollars from instruction. Increase current fees and reinstitute fees for all families accessing transportation services. Ensure student safety remains the top priority. Impress upon the government to adequately fund transportation; further, provide rebates to public institutions for costs incurred through the carbon levy.

6 PHASE II - ONLINE SURVEY BUNDLE 1 RVS Student Transportation Committee met February 6 to review the results from Phase 1 and to identify cost-saving bundles to be presented to the public through a second online survey. Based on the feedback received, the Board wants to hear how stakeholders would rank the following bundles. It is important to note only one bundle would need to be implemented to address the projected $1 million dollar shortfall. 1 Pick up urban students to fill rural buses & Longer bus ride time (approx. 15 min.) for rural students from North of Cochrane and from rural Airdrie and Chestermere 54% 69% Refrain from entering rural cul-de-sacs unless the length exceeds 800 m (currently 400 m) 6% 75% 69% 79% 5 Create consistent school finish times from Monday to Friday by eliminating early dismissal Fridays $50,000 routines. 47% 57% BUNDLE COST SAVINGS: $1.05 million & Refrain from entering rural cul-de-sacs unless the length exceeds 800 m (currently 400 m) 6% 75% 69% 79% 6 Increase walk distance to.4 km for all urban students (currently 1.5 km for K-8 and km for 9-1 students) $0,000 Increases the traffic congestion at schools, coupled with increases in safety concerns for students. 1% 4% NEW Increase transportation fees by 5 percent for families currently charged bus fees. $50,000 Some families will pay $14/student more. - - COST SAVINGS: $1.0 million BUNDLE & Refrain from entering rural cul-de-sacs unless the length exceeds 800 m (currently 400 m) 6% 75% 69% 79% 5 Create consistent school finish times from Monday to Friday by eliminating early dismissal Fridays $50,000 routines. 47% 57% NEW Increase transportation fees by 10 percent* for families currently charged bus fees. $100,000 Some families will pay $8/student more. - - *Subject to ministerial approval COST SAVINGS: $1.0 million

7 BUNDLE 4 & Refrain from entering rural cul-de-sacs unless the length exceeds 800 m (currently 400 m) 6% 75% 69% 79% 4 Adjust and extend school bell times to accommodate triple runs in urban communities (schools start and end within a one-hour, 0 min. window of each other, e.g., 8 9:0 am) $400,000 routines. % 47% COST SAVINGS: $1.05 million Q & A Since January 5, stakeholders have asked a wide variety of questions. To further build stakeholder understanding on this budget issue, the following Q & A is offered: Q. Why is there a $1 million deficit in student transportation? A. The majority of the deficit is due to provincial grant revenues not keeping pace with the cost of inflation. Student transportation costs have risen by 17.8 percent, while grant revenues have risen by only 1.7 percent over the same time period. This has been compounded further by RVS annual costs for the new carbon levy of $60,000, and the changes implemented by government through the recent Act to Reduce School Fees. Q. What has RVS done to mitigate insufficient provincial grants over the past 10 years? A. The Board has reduced its student transportation reserve of $1.8 million to zero, made route efficiencies through the introduction of double runs where possible (currently employed on 80 out of 70 routes), lengthened rural runs to fill up buses, improved its ability to collect ridership data to identify efficiencies, increased fees, and most importantly, advocated to the government to increase transportation funding. Q. Why are school boards not exempt from the carbon levy; are they not an arm of the government? A. In the case of student transportation, the cost of the carbon levy is incurred by bus contractors, who in turn pass these costs off to the jurisdiction as part of their contract. Even if jurisdictions purchased the fuel directly, they would have to pay the carbon levy. Ideally, government would provide boards with carbon levy rebates, but that currently is not the case. Q. Can t RVS choose to reinstate bus fees for all student transportation families? A. No, it would be against the law. In the spring 017, the Government of Alberta (GOA) passed Bill 1: An Act to Reduce School Fees that removed the ability of boards to charge transportation fees for students living.4 kilometers or greater from their designated school. Q. What was the net impact of An Act to Reduce School Fees on RVS? A. RVS can charge fees to only 4,00 riders, rather than 1,000 riders before the Act was introduced. Although the government attempted to make up this loss in revenue through a Transportation Fee Replacement Grant, when received, the grant reflected funding based on 015/16 fees and student enrolment counts, not 017/18, impacting boards like RVS that grow by almost five percent each year. The cost of the Act on RVS transportation services is currently over $00,000 annually. Q. Why not renegotiate your bus contracts? A. RVS 10-year bus contracts do not expire until 00. Currently the contracts state that contractors will be paid for 185 days and will receive an increase as identified by the annual Calgary Consumer Price Index (CCPI), which over the past 10 years has been a 19.1 percent increase. RVS requires contractors to increase the pay of bus drivers in alignment with CCPI increases, with most drivers earning $/hr.

8 Q. What would be the savings if RVS reduced the number of school days? A. Very little savings would be incurred until bus contractors contracts expire in 00. As noted above, RVS is required to pay contractors for 185 days of service. Q. I live in the country; why do I see multiple buses drive by my house half-full? A. All rural routes have been designed to ensure these riders are not on the bus for longer than minutes. Another factor is that not all bus students ride their bus each day. As outlined in the costsaving proposal number 1, to fill up rural buses RVS would require some riders to travel up to 75 minutes each way or two and a half hours per day. Q. What safety precautions would be made if RVS refrains from entering rural cul-de-sacs unless the length exceeds 800 m? A. As is current practice, rural routes would be designed so students would be picked-up and droppedoff towards the mouth of the cul-de-sac, so children do not have to cross the road. RVS Bus Exceptions Committee also may identify some cul-de-sacs where this new practice is simply not feasible for student safety reasons. Q. Will double runs require urban students to be on the bus longer? A. No. Overall, urban routes would remain the same length of time. Efficiencies are made by ensuring start and finish times between schools is a minimum of 40 minutes, allowing buses to make two runs instead of one. Q. How does establishing consistent start and finish times across the week save money? A. For many schools, double runs are possible from Monday to Thursday as there is currently 40 minutes or more between start and end times among schools. On Fridays this is not the case, therefore double runs cannot be achieved. If the school week was consistent, double runs could be employed across the entire week. Q. What is the actual costs to bus a student? A. On average, the cost to bus each student to and from school is approximately $1,00/year. Q. What would student transportation fees be if a 5 or 10 percent increase were made? A. Student transportation fees for families within.4 km of their designated school or attending a nondesignated school currently are $80/student. A five percent increase would raise fees by $14 for a total of $94/student. A 10 percent increase would raise fees by $8 for a total of $08/. It is important to note that ministerial approval is required to increase fees more than five percent. Q. Why not partner with Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) in providing transportation services? A. RVS currently does partner with CCSD to transport students within its boundaries and employs double runs in some communities. Further efficiencies between the two systems are being discussed. Q. When will a decision be made by the Board and the impacts communicated to families? A. The Board will deliberate its decision on April 1. The jurisdiction will inform families of anticipated changes immediately after a decision is made. The impact on individual families will be communicated by June 0. Q. Does RVS anticipate further changes to transportation; how is the Board being proactive? A. The Board of Trustees will continue to advocate to the government for increased transportation funding and its administration in finding route and operational efficiencies. Options presented by the public through this consultation will be reviewed in the future. Additionally, contract renegotiations with bus contractors will occur for the 00/1 school year.