Finding solutions
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Updated: January 29, 2010 12:44 PM
Everyone knows that if you’re going to live on an island, you have to make concessions. (Time waits for no man and the ferry waits for no person or car!) But people do not give up all of their rights when they choose to live on Bowen. And parents with young families shouldn’t have to sacrifice too many of the services that people on the mainland take for granted.
Right now, parents on Bowen can understand that the West Vancouver School Board is in a budget crunch. Across the province, agencies, ministries and public institutions that rely on tax dollars are being told there are few taxes dollars to go around. British Columbia’s rich resource base isn’t generating as much money as it used to and with the recession still lurking in the shadows, the provincial government isn’t keen to raise taxes. And so it’s asking people to make do with less, and that includes Bowen Island.
What was gratifying to witness at last Monday’s public information meeting was Bowen Island parents’ willingness to work with the board to address the expected shortfall in transportation funding. Instead of telling board officials that the status quo was the only acceptable options, parents were coming up with ideas and suggestions, which ranged the full gamut of getting rid of busses altogether to introducing user fees. The parents were willing to make changes and concessions as long as everyone – including TransLink – was working together to come up for the best options for their children.
It would be impossible to come up with a consensus on what option is right for Bowen (and not just because of Bowen’s history of finding it difficult to find consensus.) Each family is facing its own set of circumstances, from parents who want to encourage their children to walk to school to those who are willing to drive their children across the island rather than have them get up an hour earlier so they could take the bus. Some parents, however, don’t have the luxury of choice, which is why it’s imperative that the school board find some way of providing inexpensive bussing options. Transportation may not be the school board’s legal responsibility, but it is the ethical one since the board is in the best position to provide the best service at the least cost. (No one else could hire a school bus.)
The issue of changing the catchment area for Bowen Island high school students seems much trickier. In this case, Bowen parents have a well-founded resistance to change because they’ve been asked to change so much. Ten years ago their children went to Rockridge. Then the board said it would be best for the board if the teens went to West Van Secondary School. Now the school board wants the teenagers back at Rockridge.
Complicating matters is that this decision is not about money; it’s about school capacity. West Van is full, Rockridge needs more students. But Bowen parents have a right to ask why they’re the ones who have to make the numbers work.
Luckily, the school board seems to have a genuine willingness to work with parents and students on both issues. The consultation process seems more than just window dressing to cover up decisions that have already been made. However, the school board needs ideas as well as criticisms. And Bowen Islanders never seem to have a lack of ideas, which the school board should welcome and respect.
