Students and parents in Atikokan are protesting a recent decision by the Rainy River District School Board to not replace a school bus Atikokan High School uses for special programs.
The AHS parent council is organizing a public meeting this Wednesday (March 21) at 7 p.m. at the Moose Hall there to inform the public and the board about the many uses of the bus and its importance to students.
“Our main goal for the meeting in an information session to educate our community, and hopefully our board, if they come,” said Darlene Cox, a member of the AHS parent council.
“We need to educate the board and even members of our community who have taken it for granted,” she added.
Also Wednesday, AHS students are planning a walk-out at 11 a.m. to voice their disapproval of the board’s decision.
The bus—the only bus owned by the school board there—primarily is used for the Outers program and the Natural Resource Technology (NRT) course, but it also is used for class field trips in music, art, physical education, and geography, as well as year-end class trips.
Cox is the mother of three students who attend AHS and is concerned about the impact the loss of the bus will have on their education.
“Our students are getting an education they won’t get anywhere else,” she said.
“It’s not just a bus. It’s what allows us to be who we are,” she stressed.
The board was not available for comment as of press time today.
AHS has had its own bus for 35 years, Cox noted—nearly as long as it’s been running the Outers program, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2005.
Fort Frances Times
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