Times Advocate, 1999-09-22, Page 9Wednesday, September 22,1999
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Fewer students in Exeter are eligible this year to take the bus to Exeter Public School and, to a lesser extent, South Huron District High School.As a result, parents are
concerned about the safety of their children walking to school.
es to school
By Scott Nixon
TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF
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EXETER — There are more students walking to
school in Exeter this year as changes from the
Avon Maitland District School Board have restrict-
ed who can use the buses.
And with those changes come concerns about
children's safety while walking to school.
Bus service to Exeter Public School, according to
principal Ric Graham, has been restricted this
year to students from kindergarten to Gr. 3. The
three geographical areas affected are: north of the
Ausable River, west of the railroad tracks, and
south of Huron Street and west of Main Street (for
example, the Mill and Waterloo streets area).
Before the changes, Graham said students were
able to ride the bus to school whether they were in
kindergarten or Gr. 11. Graham guesses 40-50
students have been affected bythe restrictions.
If students fall outside of the kindergarten to Gr.
3 restrictions in that area and still want to take
the bus, they have to ask for a bus pass. Graham
said bus passes can be granted if, for example, an
older student is babysitting a younger student. So
far, Graham has issued about 15 passes.
Students now ineligible to ride the bus to school
are walking, riding their bikes or getting rides
from their parents. Graham said many students
have simply adjusted to the change but some fami-
lies have adversely been affected by the new bus
rules.
• "There has been concern about (the changes)
particularly at the .extremities of the town," he
said, adding parents have expressed worries about
their children walking to school in the winter if
the streets and sidewalks haven't been plowed.
Safety, Graham said, is the biggest concern of
the parents.
Graham said for years the board has had guide-
lines on which students can take the bus and said
the decision to implement the changes in Exeter
means they are watching those guidelines more
stringently.
The guidelines also cut down on the number of
students who are getting older but still take the
bus to school.
The decision also comes down to the issue of
cash.
• "The overall idea is that eventually . . . if there is
a saving in ridership and there can be one less
bus, then there's that much saving," Graham said.
Graham, who has three children who now aren't
eligible to ride the bus, said he hopes the cost sav-
ings aren't made at the expense of safety.
He says he is concerned about students having to
deal with high speeds and heavy traffic on Huron
Street.
"That haunts me a little."
Graham said the parents' association and school
council are looking into possible alternatives for
the win-
ter. He
said one
possibili-
ty is par-
ents may
pay for a
bus to
drive the
affected
students
to school.
"It's not
an issue
that's just
being
over-
looked.
People
are talk-
about kids crossing the tracks and st!'s also wor-
ried about the winter, when snow isn't plowed on
the sidewalks in that part of town. •
"There's nowhere for the kids to walk," she says.
Another concern is traffic. As soon as cars hit the
tracks on. Huron St. W., Hefley says, they speed
up. On the other hand, when cars are driving east-
bound into town on Huron St. W., they aren't
slowing down enough.
Hefley says it's the school board's responsibility
to make sure students get td` school safely. She
adds that the board promised parents last year
that students in Exeter who live west of the tracks
would never lose their bus privileges.
"At what time, did the board abdi-
cate its responsibilities to make
sure students got to school safely?
There used to be a time. when they
were very concerned about how
safe it was for the children -to get to
school," she adds.
"The other thing that concerns
me is that it's simply too far to
walk," she says of the half:hour
walk.
"I'd like to see (members of the
school board) walk it every day."
Hefley says she speaks for a lot of
parents who live in her area and
who agree with her.
Another upset parent, who asked
the T -A not to be identified, echoed
Hefley's concerns and said her two
children are upset at the changes.
She said she feels her children are safe when
they take the bus to school.
"At least you know they're getting .Er.om Point A
to Point 13 (safely)."
The chairperson of Exeter Public School's advi-
sory council, Scott Eveland, isalso concerned
about young students walking to school and said
he's been calling the school board to see what
options the parents have to solve the issue.
The T -A's phone calls to the Avon Maitland
District School Board were not returned in time
for press.
ing about it, people are trying to find alternatives
and wanting to make the best of the situation."
Over at South Huron District High School, princi-
pal Deb Homuth said the changes have affected
some students, but it's mostly a public school
issue.
One parent who is upset at the changes is Jane
Hefley, who has twb children at Exeter Public
School and one at South Huron. She says while she
has several concerns about the buses, her biggest
is safety.
Hefley and her family live on Huron St. W., west
of the tracks on the edge of town. She's worried