On Tuesday, October 15, Hawkesbury town council received a response from the Ontario Ministry of Education about concerns it raised associated with changes to funding for school bus transportation and the distances students must walk to reach a school bus stop. The changes have affected children attending Francophone public and Catholic schools located in Hawkesbury.
Under the policies in effect for the new 2024-2025 school year, the criteria defining which students are entitled to school transport, which are defined by the distances between home and school, have changed from 100 metres for Maternelle/Jardin students to 800 metres. The distance for students in grades one to eight has changed from 800 metres to 1.6 kilometres. For students grades nine to 12, the distance has increased from two kilometres to 3.2 kilometres.
For students who are eligible for school transportation, the criteria defining the maximum distances between home and bus stops have also been revised. For Maternelle/Jardin students, the distance has changed from 250 metres to 800 metres. The distance for students in grades one to eight has changed from 500 metres to 800 metres, and for students in grades nine to 12, it has increased from 500 metres to 1.6 kilometres.
On August 22, council adopted a resolution asking the changes to be paused and that discussions take place between municipal staff, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), and other school transportation consortiums about their policies to use as comparisons. Council wrote to the Minister of Education about obtaining funding for a study to examine the implications of changes to eligibility for school transportation for students, parents, and the municipality.
Education Minister Jill Dunlop did not respond directly to the town’s letter. The response was instead written by Didem Proulx, an Assistant Deputy Minister in the Capital and Business Support Division. The letter did not specifically address the concerns expressed by council, but rather emphasized how the ministry understands the importance of cost-effective school transportation and then listed the various criteria and reasons for recent policy changes.
The ministry letter claimed that the four school boards serving Hawkesbury and Prescott-Russell have experienced transportation funding increases ranging from 20 to 50 per cent since the 2018-2019 school year.
Mayor Robert Lefebvre described the ministry’s response as being simply generic.
Councillor Julie Séguin noted Champlain and East Hawkesbury township councils have also supported the resolution Hawkesbury council adopted on August 22. She questioned if Francophone school transportation in Hawkesbury is being funded fairly, compared to transportation for Anglophone schools. Séguin said there are no English-language schools in Hawkesbury, so all students from the town who attend those schools have access to transportation. She wondered if the issue could possibly be raised with the Ontario Ombudsman, whose mandate includes French-language public services.
