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Transportation and facilities reports taken to Cornerstone Boardroom

The semi-annual report on transportation services for the South East Cornerstone Public School Division was delivered to board members on June 19 during their regular open business session in Weyburn.

The semi-annual report on transportation services for the South East Cornerstone Public School Division was delivered to board members on June 19 during their regular open business session in Weyburn.

Andy Dobson, the manager of transportation and facilities for the division, told the members there had been one minor tweak to the general school bus routes with one route in the Moosomin area now eliminated from the 113 route system covered by the school division’s buses and 43 more handled by a contracted company.

A total of 4,145 of the division’s nearly 8,300 students are transported to school by buses on a regular basis.

There were significantly more bus cancellations in February and March this year, mainly due to extreme weather conditions. To illustrate that fact, Dobson said 116 cancellations were recorded in the first half of the school year and 402.5 cancellations in the second half with 268 of those being a direct result of weather compared with 67 weather-related cancellations in the first half. Another 58.5 were chalked up to mechanical issues and 76 cancelled because there were no substitute drivers immediately available.

The average one-way drive time for each bus remained steady at 48 minutes while the longest one-way drive time continued to be the 90-minute schedule that extended from Estevan to the Torquay area.

Dobson and Audrey Trombley, the chairwoman for Cornerstone, explained that a contracted bus service was necessary since the division did not have the finances to make a capital purchase of at least another 43 school buses.

“We have had three retirements,” said Dobson, referring to the current bus driver roster, while discussing the ongoing problem of hiring regular and substitute drivers and ensuring they are fully qualified to provide the service.

Dobson also provided a brief summary of various maintenance projects that were required, as he switched over to his second duties as facilities manager. He said about $2.8 million in necessary repairs were on the schedule and the budgeted amounts can be carried over from one year to the next. “We like to have a small financial cushion so we can handle the unexpected,” he said.

Dobson noted roofing needs are still on top of the lists and they are relying on engineering reports to record aging roof requirements and “if something emergent comes along then we have to drop something off the list to tend to it.”

Subdivision 4 board member, Kevin Keating, a former regional maintenance leader for the division, said keeping aging schools updated with early detection and strong maintenance plans, meant they could possibly remain active within the system for a longer period of time and that would benefit both the division and the Ministry of Education.