The Flin Flon School Division (FFSD) is reminding drivers to watch out around buses. The division posted a warning to drivers on their Facebook page in late February advising people to avoid passing and to exercise caution around parked buses. At the division’s Feb. 25 board meeting, they received a report on school bus safety.
“Student safety is at the forefront of everybody's mind right now,” superintendent Tammy Ballantyne said.
“Let's make sure students are safe.”
The report was developed by the Task Force on School Bus Safety, a nationwide group consisting of provincial and federal representatives. The report said 79 per cent of school children bus fatalities happen outside the bus. It recommends extended stop-arms and a suite of cameras to catch and deter potential offenders.
“Keep the pressure up,” board chair Murray Skeavington said.
“Keep reminding people it’s illegal to pass a school bus when their lights are flashing.”
The report did not formally recommend installing three-point seatbelts, but acknowledged they can provide an additional layer of safety.
The report says that over two million students are transported to school and back every day by buses in Canada.
Bus drivers are contracted out by the division and have told the board they will be starting to report every car that illegally passes them.
“Sometimes, when you start looking for something, you notice it all the time,” trustee Amy Sapergia Green.
“It might just be that at this particular moment, we're just having a bit of a glimpse and noticing it, or that our bus drivers say, ‘Forget it. I'm recording everybody that does this for now.’”
According to the report, over 2,500 buses are active in Manitoba, with nearly half of the provincial fleet over 10 years old.
Provincial notes
The school division’s budget is officially out the door. The board approved its sendoff at the meeting. It still has to be approved by provincial officials.
“We'd like to thank the public for their input in the recent budget meeting,” Skeavington said.
“Also to our senior admin for the amount of time and effort they have put in to making this budget work.”
The board also made plans to attend the 2020 Manitoba School Boards Association (MSBA) convention.
Traditionally, the provincial education minister has been available for a question and answer session at the behind closed doors portion of the convention. This meeting is referred to as the “bear-pit session.” Kelvin Goertzen will still attend the banquet, but will not be in the bear pit. The association is still asking boards to submit questions, in the hopes that the minister or ministry will answer.
“Maybe if we brought him donuts or something, he’d answer,” Sapergia Green joked.
School boards across the province are still waiting for the results of the ongoing K-12 provincial education review.
