Highlights from the RRDSB’s monthly Board of Trustees’ meeting on April 1, 2025, include a recognition of excellence for Mine Centre School, Cristol Bailey and Nicole Evans, and a thorough discussion of transportation issues for students of the same family but different grades travelling to the same school.
Having served for 25 years as employees under the Rainy River District School Board, Cristol Bailey and Nicole Evans were recognized for their continued educational excellence. Moreover, Mine Centre School and its principals – Cecilia Stewart and Barbe Dennis – received a recognition of excellence for ‘Women’s and Men’s teachings’ by and for Anishinaabe instructors and students. The teachings included ribbon skirt making for women’s teachings and how to build a fire and a snare for men’s teachings.
This is part of the board’s ongoing goals to facilitate “visits with Elders and Knowledge Keepers, build staff and student understanding of FNMI perspectives, culture, and histories, and embedding land-based teaching and learning into Mine Centre School’s way of being,” according to the report from Stewart and Dennis.
Aside from the recognitions of excellence, a lengthy discussion was had regarding some unfinished business on a policy from the Ministry of Education that requires students of different grades and age groups to walk various distances in order to receive funding from the province on school bus transportation.
“The Ministry [of Education] is getting increasingly granular in what they will fund,” said Heather Campbell, Director of Education for the board. “Taking off my Director [of Education] hat for a moment, I can see how parents might be confused.”
Funding from the Ministry of Education for student transportation requires students to live a certain distance away from their school to be eligible for bussing. For example, Grades 9-12 are required to be 3.2 km or farther, and Grades 1-8 are required to be 1.6 km or farther to receive transportation funding. JK/ SK students have the lowest distance at just 0.8 km.
This can lead to some odd arrangements where families might need one of their kids to walk while another gets picked up by the school bus.
“Older students boarding the bus at a JK/SK stop reduces the eligible funded ridership, thereby decreasing the boards’ overall funding,” reads the report.
“School boards across Ontario are funded by the Ministry of Education according to provincial guidelines. If we expand beyond our current state – door-to-door for JK/SK students, which currently does not impact the total ridership of our Board and is thus allowed for the time being – we will receive less funding based on eligible ridership. Per the Transportation Consortium Agreement, if this solution goes forward on the request by one board, then we, as the requesting board, incur the total costs associated with this policy change for both school boards.”
A few votes to amend the agreement to give more flexibility to the parents were proposed, even though it might reduce funding for the board. Trustee Jeff Lehmann took issue with the proposal and voted against all iterations of the motions, in line with most other board trustees save Mike Walchuk and John Fuhrer, who consistently voted for the topic. All motions related to the topic of student transportation were defeated in a vote.
