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kids arrive by bus for the first day of school at chinook park school in calgary on thursday, august 31, 2023. the calgary board of education is increasing bus fees this year.
gavin young/postmedia
families of students attending calgary board of education schools are facing a big increase in bus fees next year.
the increase comes after the board approved their budget for the 2026-2027 years. families of students between grades 1 and 9 will now pay $500 per bus rider, a $140 increase from $360 the previous year.
no fee changes were proposed for specialized transportation, a board spokesperson said in an email on thursday.
“we recognize this is a significant increase,” the email adds.
according to the statement, the board is close to exhausting a transportation reserve fund used for the past several years to supplement fees, and is also navigating an increase in the cost of providing transportation.
the announcement comes a month after the province announced an additional $458-million for student transportation for the 2026-2027 fiscal year.
the government has also pledged $8.6 billion over the next five years to build 90 new schools and update or replace 24 existing schools.
in the email, the cbe said there are currently 22 new school projects at various stages of development.
“we expect as these schools open, more students will be able to attend school closer to home. this will reduce the need for transportation out of their community,” the email said.
in an email on thursday, the calgary catholic school district said it will not be increasing transportation fees for the upcoming school year, but identified similar “inflationary pressures” as a budgetary challenge.
“while ccsd appreciates the province’s increased transportation funding, transportation costs continue to rise and funding has not kept pace with the realities faced by growing school districts,” the statement reads.
“continuing to rely on operational savings to address transportation shortfalls is not sustainable, and those resources are better prioritized for classrooms and student learning.”
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