Protest march against school bus axe

Feb 9 2010 by Alison Rennie, Paisley Daily Express

HUNDREDS of angry parents and pupils took to the streets early yesterday to protest against plans to axe their free school bus.

The march was organised by St Benedict’s High School parent council to show council bosses the dangers of asking their kids to walk to school alongside busy roads.

Furious mums, dads and pupils waved placards and banners saying ‘Save Our School Bus’ as they walked the route from Houstoun Square in Johnstone out to their school in Linwood.

Renfrewshire Council has axed the free school bus for all secondary school pupils who live more than two miles from their school. Now, only pupils living three miles or more from their school will be entitled to the free bus.

The move will affect more than 900 youngsters across Renfrewshire with St Benedict’s High School in Linwood one of the worst affected.

Parent council chair Sandra Ross said: “We had a great turnout for the march which was only organised last Wednesday night.

“There were a couple of hundred people there which shows the strength of feeling there is about this.

“I was one of the last to leave the Square at about 8.10am and didn’t get to the school till two minutes to nine. Some parents left Spateston at 7.10am and got to the school at ten to nine.

“Parents are up in arms about this. It’s the safety aspect which has upset us most.

“These roads are very busy with traffic and you know what kids are like, they’re not going to be walking in single file.

“Truancy levels are going to go through the roof. Kids won’t go to school and when the weather is terrible, parents won’t send their children out to walk in it.”

The buses are set to be axed from the start of April and will save the council an estimated £274,000.

Worst affected is St Andrew’s Academy in Paisley, where an extra 293 pupils will have to walk, followed by 187 children at St Benedict’s, 166 at Gryffe High in Houston, 134 at Gleniffer High in Paisley, 118 at Castlehead High, also in Paisley, and a further 66 at Paisley Grammar.

Next step for the St Benedict’s parents is to contact all the other schools affected and arrange a mass protest, either a march or public meeting.

St Andrew’s Academy parent council chairman, Brendan Quinn, told the Paisely Daily Express they had already held a heated meeting with mums and dads about the council plans.

He has been promised a meeting with council leader Derek Mackay and the council’s head of education, Robert Naylor.

Meanwhile, Castlehead High parents are getting together for a public meeting to discuss the plans.

A mother-of-three who lives in Elderslie has a son in second year at Castlehead with her other children due to start there this August and next year.

She said: “My son will turn 11 three days before he starts at Castlehead after the summer and there’s no way I’m letting him walk all that way on his own.

“My heart would be in my mouth, I’m not doing it. It would cost £5.80 a week to send each of my children on the bus and who knows if they’d even get on the bus at that time in the morning.”

The public meeting will be held in Castlehead High School on Wednesday, February 24, at 7.30pm.

Paisley and Renfrewshire South MP Douglas Alexander joined the parents on their march.

He said: “I support the parents in rejecting the proposed bussing cuts that the SNP leadership are now proposing.

“On safety, educational and environmental grounds it’s time Renfrewshire Council thought again and reversed their crazy cuts plan.”

A Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: “Renfrewshire Council has a reputation for providing high quality education and last year our pupils achieved their best ever SQA exam results.

“Maintaining these standards means education spending has been prioritised in our budget and is unchanged despite the severe financial pressures we are facing.

“Our approach on transport to school is in line with the majority of other councils and with national statutory guidelines.

“We are giving parents as much information as possible and are investigating points they have raised. No change will be implemented at any school unless there is an approved safe walking route.

“We understand that parents have concerns about these proposals but we will be working with the roads department to tackle a number of issues identified when senior members of the council walked the safe route to the school.

“We will be meeting with parents later this week to discuss their concerns.

“We will also be writing to parents whose children are moving from primary school to secondary school in August to explain the changes.”