March 4, 2009
Local school officials are happy with the province's changes to extra curricular travel, says the superintendent for District 16.
The province released its new travel guidelines Friday to improve safety after last year's fatal crash involving students from Bathurst. Seven basketball players from the Bathurst High School Phantoms team and their coach's wife were killed when the passenger van they were travelling in was hit by a transport after it lost control on a slippery highway minutes from home.
Superintendent Laurie Keoughan said the new policies mean every district in the province will be following the same guidelines.
"We're pleased with it."
Under the new guidelines drivers who transport students will need to get mandatory training, vehicles used must have winter tires and schools will no longer be able to use 15 passenger vans.
Schools will still be responsible for maintenance costs on the vehicles they use, but work will have to be done by the Department of Transportation.
As part of the new regulations, the province will also be buying 15 passengers vans from any schools that still have them, although a ban was already in place against their use since the accident.
Keoughan said James M. Hill and North and South Esk Regional School were the only ones in the district that still had the vans.
"We didn't have that many in the district anyway," he said.
Since the province initiated its ban, three schools bought mini buses and most of the other schools were using buses for extra-curricular travel, he said.
"There have been purchases of the multifunctional vehicles since then," Keoughan said.
Education Department spokesperson Valerie Kilfoil said only 12 schools throughout the province still had the 15 passenger vans.
"Some had gotten rid of theirs already. Not every school had one anyway," she said.
In the past, whoever owned the vehicles used for transportation chose where to have maintenance done, but the new policies mean everyone will use the same maintenance guidelines, she said.
"Now they will all get standardized maintenance which gives us a bit more control and certainly higher quality."
Like other superintendents around the province Keoughan is now responsible for deciding if travel will be cancelled due to weather and unless he authorizes it, travel will be not be allowed between 12 to 6 a.m.
Keoughan said District 16 had a policy in place for extra-curricular travel, but the recent announcement standardizes them across the province.
"I think it's as equitable as it can be."
Kilfoil said the new policies outline the decision making process for student travel and how it's going to work.
"We've had a lot of meetings with superintendents on how to proceed," she added.
Some of the guidelines, like winter tire use and the ban on 15 passenger vehicles were already in place before the province's announcement, she said.
"There's a few new things that are coming into effect."
A coroner's inquest into the Bathurst accident will be held May 4-15 and the province will review the policies once the inquest is finished.
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