Vaughan parents fuming after learning children to lose school bus
York Catholic District School Board says children are ineligible for busing, but were getting it due to 'mapping error'

YorkRegion.com
March 21, 2017
Adam Martin-Robbins  

When Anna Maria Imbrogno and her husband were house hunting in Vaughan more than a decade ago, they had some specific criteria in mind.

They wanted to be close to a Catholic elementary school, but not so close the squeals of youngsters on the playground would be bothersome.

The couple found a home on Timberwolf Crescent, in Vellore Woods, the ideal distance from a site designated in the subdivision plans for a future school.

Years later, when their son, Daniel, was about to start junior kindergarten, the new school hadn’t materialized, so they enrolled him at St. Emily Catholic Elementary School, close to 1.6 km away.

At the time, Imbrogno was told Daniel qualified for busing until Grade 8.

She had no reason to doubt that as her neighbour’s kids, who were older, rode the bus to St. Emily.

But, by last June, something changed.

Imbrogno got a letter from Student Transportation Services of York Region, the consortium that manages busing for both school boards, notifying her Daniel won’t qualify for busing when he starts Grade 4 in September 2017.

It turns out, a few years ago, York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB) determined it didn’t need another school at Hawstone Road, near her home, and the land was returned to the developer, who built homes on it.

Following that, the busing agency conducted an audit of school bus routes in her area.

It determined students on Timberwolf, who are in Grade 4 and above, actually don’t meet the 1.6 km distance requirement to qualify for busing.

Busing was also removed for students at nine other stops in that area, in some cases for kids going into Grade 4, in others for students of all ages.  

Outraged, Imbrogno contacted Student Transportation Services of York Region, the local trustee and superintendent, but says she couldn’t get a satisfactory explanation as to why the bus was being removed.

Trustee Maria Marchese didn’t respond to the Vaughan Citizen’s requests for comment by publication deadline.

But a school board spokesperson said in an interview the busing changes were made after the audit uncovered a “mapping error.”

“In a recent service review for St. Emily, Student Transportation Services discovered a mapping error in its transportation software and a number of students receiving transportation to St. Emily were getting that ,even though they reside within the school’s non-transportation zone,” said Sonia Gallo, YCDSB’s communications manager.

“We gave them a year’s notice,” she added.  

Imbrogno says that’s unacceptable and she intends to continue fighting to keep the bus.

“My house hasn’t moved, so if he’s supposed to be bused until Grade 8, I plan on him being bused until Grade 8,” she said. “It’s their mistake so I don’t see why an eight-year-old should be walking 1.6 km.”

She’s contacted dozens of affected families and circulated a petition, which has nearly 100 signatures.  

“There were no options given with this plan. They didn’t provide a safety plan, they didn’t provide any extra before and after school care. … If you call the school, they don’t have any space, there’s like a five-year waiting list,” she said.

“One year isn’t enough time to uproot your entire life and find alternative care for something you didn’t think you’d have to do.”

Rachel Caprara, another Timberwolf resident, agrees.

Her son, Christian, starts Grade 4 in the fall and she was counting on him riding the bus with his twin siblings, one of whom has autism and suffers from anxiety, when they start junior kindergarten in September.

But her appeals to the school board were rebuffed.

“They said sorry, there are a lot of families that have the same circumstances and they’re dealing with it,” Caprara said.

She asked if the board would consider offering courtesy seating, which some other school boards do, allowing Christian to ride with his siblings if the bus isn’t full.

Again, the answer was no.

Both Imbrogno and Caprara are concerned about their sons’ safety as Vellore Woods Boulevard, the main road they’ll walk along to school, is a busy street travelled by public transit buses, trucks and hundreds of cars daily.

They’re also worried because the boys have to pass by a large forested area where coyotes have been spotted.

Recently, they say, students were kept inside for several days following coyote sightings.

“(Our kids) can’t even be left by themselves at this age, why can they walk that far to school?” Imbrogno said.

Imbrogno, who sits on the school’s parent council, also noted removal of the bus will exacerbate an already chaotic situation at St. Emily during morning drop off, which can take up to 40 minutes because so many parents drive their kids.

 “If you thought you were getting busing until Grade 8, that’s what you should be getting.”