Bus a mobile classroom

Dear sir:
I would like to express my support for the parents, students, and teachers who are petitioning the Rainy River District School Board to rescind its motion denying the students at Atikokan High School a bus.
These students receive a unique educational experience which is based on the Ontario Education curriculum and blended with—and enhanced by—having a bus as a mobile classroom.
My sons, and the sons and daughters of many former residents, all have benefited from it. Programs such as the Outers, the Natural Resource Technology, and the Alternative Learning program all were innovations which had their beginning in Atikokan and which utilized the bus as a classroom on wheels.
Since that time, student numbers have shrunk but the utilization of the bus has grown. It now includes everything from trips to the swimming pool to excursions to Minneapolis where students study urban development.
This growth is the result of former boards of education that had an all-encompassing view of present-day children in a future world. Those past boards were not afraid to venture into new areas of education and, in time, other boards followed.
The school bus as it is used today was but one of a number of pieces of equipment that were introduced to support their philosophy.
Also, in keeping with this spirit of innovation, there was a deliberate program of staff recruitment which focused on individuals who not only were prepared to support new programs, but also willing to contribute a substantial portion of their free time.
This resulted in AHS providing credit programs not available in any other provincial high school and based on time donated outside of the regular school day.
The Rainy River District School Board has offered to provide a contracted bus to support the outdoor education programs. So we ask why is this bus important to the students in Atikokan?
Yes, it gets students from point ‘A’ to ‘B,’ but it is more than just that—it is a mobile classroom readily available and used for countless activities which students would be denied without the bus.
Furthermore, it is particularly important for programs that do not fit within the confines of the normal school day. Teachers, who are licensed bus drivers, take their students to learning opportunities which would not be readily available or affordable.
The list of activities is too long to enumerate, but I can assure you that the use of this bus is far in excess of the outdoor education programs for which it initially was purchased.
The board office has stated this is not a money issue—it would cost as much to charter a bus from a contractor as it would to buy a bus for school use. The board’s insurer has not expressed any liability concerns—in fact, there is a 35-year record of safe driving.
What, then, is the problem? Does the board want to kill the volunteer spirit that provides curriculum enrichment for the students. I hope not!
On April 3, the parent council from AHS is going to make a presentation to the board. They will be speaking on behalf of their most cherished possessions—children.
I urge the board to give them all of the time they need to make their presentation and not hide behind a policy which limits their presentation to a few short minutes.
These are parents who are concerned for the future of their children; the least they deserve is open and honest deliberations.
And, in the course of these deliberations, let us remember that the school system is there for the education of children—and the obligation of the trustees is to ensure that they get the best education possible.
Thank you,
Larry Fontana
Fort Frances, Ont.