A picture taken in the area where the Schattle family lives near Canwood. (Submitted/Marla Schattle)

By Nigel Maxwell

Access to education

Mother frustrated with school division’s bus transportation policy

Jun 3, 2022 | 12:00 PM

Marla Schattle and her husband want their children to have access to French Immersion, but claim a school division’s policy has forced the family to make some costly sacrifices.

The family’s home between Debden and Canwood lies just outside of the school’s division boundary lines, which means if she wants her children to go to Debden school, she’ll have to take them there herself everyday.

Bus service is provided to Canwood but French Immersion programming is not offered there. A third option is a so-called safe haven (family approved home) within the boundary, but the family would still be required to travel to and from there. Schattle said these other options do not work.

“I’d be getting to work at 9:30, 10 o’clock in the morning. What job in rural Saskatchewan affords you that,” she said.

Other families who have previously had children bussed to the school have been grandfathered in but for Schattle, whose children are just starting school, she’s left out, even though she’s still paying the taxes for the transportation service.

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“I keep getting replies that they are not denying the access to French Immersion but, in rural Saskatchewan, you absolutely are if you are not providing the transportation,” she said.

Schattle’s last letter to the board was sent on May 9 and essentially was just received and filed. In a verbal discussion with her trustee, Schattle said she was told the issue was that there was no new information contained within it.

“I don’t know what new information I could provide other than stating my case over and over again,” she said.

Schattle has also reached out to the Saskatoon School Division and said she learned that transportation is provided for any students who wish to partake in Cree Immersion, regardless of where they may live in the city.

“Why am I being punished and my kids being punished to access our second official langauge when we did have access to it,” she said.

Robert Bratvold, Director of Education for the Sask. Rivers Public School Division told paNOW the school board was aware of Schattle’s concerns, and explained the decision last year to change the boundary lines was done so the school division could be more in line with provincial regulations for transportation

“We’re consistent across our division in that if a student wants to attend a school that is not in their attendance area, they can do that as long as the school has the resources to meet their needs and the family can provide the transportation,” he explained.

When asked to elaborate on the rules, Bratvold said the school division had in the past gone beyond the boundaries and was not being recognized for it.

“So as part of our process to comply or be in line with those regulations, we wanted to make these changes,” he said, adding the school division is simply trying to be as efficient as it can with the dollars it receives from the provincial government.

“To provide transportation to everybody to any school is just not logistically feasible,” Bratvold added.

When asked about opportunities at Canwood School and whether there had been any conversations related to French Immersion programming, Bratvold said there had been none.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell