Several Yukon parents are scrambling to make alternate arrangements after learning their children won’t receive bus service on the eve of the new school year.

“It’s definitely caused a lot of confusion and frustration,” Jennifer Duke told the Star Thursday evening.

Duke has five children, three of whom were planning to take the bus from Riverdale to Elijah Smith Elementary School.

Duke said she found out a week and a half ago that the school bus from Riverdale would no longer go to Elijah Smith.

“I looked online and saw it wasn’t going to our school anymore,” Duke said.

When she called the school bus company, she was informed that her kids’ usual school bus would be transiting École Émilie-Tremblay students only – and no other route was available to her.

“Which left me driving my kids to and from Elijah Smith, and I can’t do that because I don’t have a reliable vehicle,” Duke said.

“That left me no choice but to switch my kids’ schools – which they’ve attended since kindergarten – and put them in Selkirk, here in Riverdale.”

Duke’s children attended Elijah Smith because her family used to live downtown.

When she moved to Riverdale seven years ago, she wanted to keep her kids in the same school.

She’s been using the school bus for nearly a decade, and says her children had developed a good connection with their bus driver.

“I am pretty disappointed, because I was continuously told that my kids had to go to a school in their district and the school buses are only for specific school districts,” Duke said.

One of Duke’s children has a sensory disorder that makes it difficult to accept change. The sudden transition to a different school was jarring, she said.

“He really warmed up to his school (at Elijah Smith) and struggled to go to school (Thursday) morning,” Duke said.

“Until he got there and did know a couple people, then he was all right with being there.”

Marta Bekeova, another Riverdale parent, also switched her child out of Elijah Smith once she learned the bus service wouldn’t be available. 

Bekeova said she received an automatic confirmation after registering her child for the bus during the summer.

That was the last direct communication she received about bus service.

She said it was “lucky” that she happened to check the bus routes online on Aug. 12 and discovered her child wouldn’t receive bus service.

“Not all parents saw that, so some parents just found out yesterday,” Bekeova said.

Andy Lera, who lives in Mount Lorne, said he received registration confirmation for his daughter in June and expected she would receive school bus service this year.

Lera received an email the day before school started informing him that would not be the case.

“(Wednesday) at four o’clock, an email from the (Education) department said that if you haven’t received an email confirming the space on the bus, then drive your child; you don’t have a spot yet,” Lera said.

Lera’s daughter is attending Grade 8 at Wood Street Centre – 36 kilometres from Lera’s house. His daughter lives with him on the weekends, and needs the school bus service on Fridays and Mondays. 

As of this morning, Lera still wasn’t sure if his daughter would be brought home via bus.

“It’s a big disappointment that there’s been no communication,” Lera said.

“In the time when we should have certainty, it creates anxiety. I don’t know if I’m going to have to plan now to be driving to pick her up Friday and take her on Monday.

“It’s up in the air with no information whatsoever coming down the line; they’ve just really failed on this.”

Duke also said she was disappointed with the lack of communication.

“I think it’s really upsetting they waited that long to tell everybody,” Duke said.

“They could have told us at the end of last year … that there’s going to be less bus services offered, and then people could have been a little bit prepared.”

Kyle Nightingale, an Education spokesman, told the Star the department is working to resolve bus issues on a case-by-case basis.

“As the school year gets started, we are monitoring our bus services to identify any issues or concerns and opportunities to make adjustments and following up directly with families with updates,” Nightingale said.

“School bus schedules and routes are adjusted as ridership is confirmed in the first few weeks of school, as in any school year.”

Nightingale said the department is still receiving registrations from families and confirming ridership numbers.

Students are eligible for the school bus if they live more than 3.2 kilometres from their school and are attending their attendance area school.

“All students who are eligible to ride the school bus will be able to do so,” Nightingale said.

Students outside the eligibility requirements will then be given a spot according to available space.

Kindergarten to Grade 3 students are prioritized; then Grades 4 to 7 students who live within 3.2 kilometres of their attendance area school; then students who attend school outside their attendance area; then special requests.

See letter.