To the Editor,
Re: School bus service costly, Opinion, Feb. 14.
I am in total disagreement with your comments.
The problem lies with the Nanaimo school board. They are not doing their jobs or homework in shopping for lower prices for bus transportation.
Some B.C. school districts are really doing their homework to save taxpayer dollars.
Some of these districts are Prince George, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Comox Valley, Vancouver,and Surrey. They have all contracted their transportation departments out.
Now they don’t have to keep buying buses, buying fuel, buying parts and supplies, and have eliminated the high cost of wages which include top-dollar pay rates and all the benefits that go along with a district-run transportation department.
These districts just have to write one cheque a month to the contractor. Completely hassle free.
We hear so much complaining with our school district about funding and they never seem to think about saving taxpayer dollars.
This Nanaimo school district most certainly never even did a comparison of expenses of the current transportation costs in comparison to a contractor.
The above school districts are still receiving the same services as before, but at a cost that is more reasonable to the taxpayers.
Just because school districts are taxpayer-funded doesn’t mean that you operate the school district like there is a never-ending supply of funds.
We can conclude that the Nanaimo school district is against change, but maybe changes in the future will make the taxpayer smile more. Maybe even getting Education Minister George Abbott looking into this provincewide.
The Nanaimo school board better start thinking like managers.
Joe Sawchuk
Duncan
