Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools trustees want the province to sustain funding to bus Grade 1 to 6 students who live one km from their designated school.
In 2023, Alberta Education amended the distance criteria from 2.4 kilometres for all students to one km for Grade 1 to 6 students, and two km for Grade 7 to 12 students.
School jurisdictions had the option to change busing eligibility starting September 2024 or 2025. Red Deer Catholic made the switch last September.
Late last year, Alberta Education informed school boards that the distance criteria would be adjusted again after receiving feedback about resource and capacity concerns. Now, the transportation criteria for Grades 1 to 6 students will be 1.6 km instead of one km and remain at two km for Grades 7 to 12, effective Sept. 1, 2025.
To ease the transition for jurisdictions that already implemented the one-km criteria and for families using those services, Alberta Education was providing one-year transition funding for the 2025/26 school year to continue the one-km distance.
During last week's Red Deer Catholic school board meeting, administration strongly recommended maintaining the current one-km eligibility criteria, citing significant investments, operational adjustments, and potential disruption to families if reversed.
In a report to the school board, administration said transportation criteria was changed in 2024 to take advantage of the purchasing arrangement with Alberta Education to acquire new buses and enhance services for families. A change to fees was also planned, so it made sense to make all the changes at once.
"The change has gone well and the increased opportunity for families to choose to utilize our transportation services was well received," the report said.
"Reversing the course now would not only disrupt this progress but also waste the time, money, and resources that have already been committed. It would risk creating confusion and frustration for families who are currently benefiting from these changes, particularly those who would lose eligibility after just one year."
Trustees decided to support the division's current criteria for the upcoming year, and committed to re-evaluating the program’s financial sustainability next year while advocating for flexibility and additional funding to sustain the one-km distance long-term.
