Calgary bus stop debacle prompts apology from CBE chief

The Calgary Board of Education's chief superintendent apologized Tuesday for confusion surrounding changes to bus stops that has forced some students to walk for kilometres to catch a bus.

David Stevenson said he takes "full responsibility" for both long walks and the lack of communication to parents, many of whom said they were blindsided by the changes to bus stops at the beginning of this school year.

"I did not communicate clearly about the changes and what they would mean for the distance some students would need to travel to their yellow school bus stop,"Stevenson told the board of trustees. "I am sorry."

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Trustee Trina Hurdman put forward a motion calling for a review of whether the CBE properly followed its own consultation policies prior to changing the bus routes.

"I'm not making any judgments on whether the decisions that were made were right or wrong,... all I'm doing is making sure that CBE policies, as set by trustees, are being followed," she said. "And, in this case, I think there was room for some improvement, which is why I brought the motion forward."

"So I do think that it's important for, as a system, we acknowledge where our weaknesses are so we can continuously improve. We are an education organization and we should all be about learning and continuously improving."

Parent's perspective

Matt Gray, who has two children affected by the new "congregated" bus stops, said his kids went from having a bus stop a few houses down the street to one that is three kilometres away.

He read a letter to the board in support of Hurdman's motion, saying he wasn't interested in "pointing fingers" but rather was hoping to see the problem resolved once and for all.

"I'm just simply eager to ensure that the school year never begins this way again," he said. "It's very important."