Surrey mother unsure of how to get her kids to school as district slashes bus service

A mother from Surrey doesn’t know how she’ll get her kids to school in September as the school district is forced to slash some bus services due to budget shortfalls.

In early May, the Surrey School Board passed a budget that included extending days for six schools, moving some non-enrolling teachers back into the classroom, and changing student bus service.

Now, Jessica Norman, a mother of two, doesn’t know what to do.

Norman’s eldest is going into Grade 11 in the fall, while the youngest is going into Grade 8. Both are in specialized programs for neurodiverse students and for those with mental health designations, like anxiety and depression.

“They have been denied bus services. I’m still trying to figure out the why on that because both technically qualify for bus service based on what the district is using based on who’s allowed and who’s not,” she explained to CityNews.

“My kids aren’t the only ones who’ve been denied bus service and it’s quite stressful to know that my children don’t have a ride to school in September and don’t have a ride back home.”

Norman, who’s a single mother, says she works full-time and doesn’t have help to get her kids to and from class.

“That bus service was a game-changer for me, just the fact that it comes directly to our house and directly to their schools. They have buses within the Surrey district that drive neurotypical children to and from school, so they’re taking kids who don’t have needs necessarily to some of the bigger schools.”

She adds both schools are too far to walk for her children and she’s not comfortable having them take transit alone right now.

“We’re already struggling. We’re already advocating for our kids to be supported properly within the schools, so it’s one more barrier that special needs parents have to walk through that we shouldn’t have to,” she said.

“We should be able to have our kids being taken to school safely. In my opinion, bus service is a barrier for parents, for them not to have that service. Lots of us are working. Lots of us are dealing with multiple things and multiple challenges and to have one more thing that we have to fight for is exhausting and super frustrating.”

Norman has been in communication with Surrey Schools and says she isn’t satisfied with any response she’s received so far.

“[I’m] really frustrated with how they’re seeing this situation, and rating kids with special needs based on who’s neediest is completely unethical.”

Surrey Schools acknowledges the move will affect families and is telling them now so they can come up with other arrangements.

“We will continue to provide service to students with the highest, most complex needs, specifically those who are physically dependent, deaf/blind, or enrolled in a specialized intensive intervention program. While transportation service is not funded by the provincial government, nor is it mandated, historically the Surrey Board of Education has chosen to fund transportation support. However, the costs have risen significantly, and the current model is no longer sustainable due to ongoing budget challenges,” it said in a statement to CityNews.

“In the current school year, our district allocated approximately $7.6 million to bus service for students with disabilities or diverse needs. Our projected budget expenditure for the upcoming school year will be approximately $3 million,” Surrey Schools added.