Threat to withdraw pupils over school bus row

PARENTS have threatened to withdraw their children from a school on the Cork-Limerick border if the Government goes ahead with controversial proposals to change the way it operates school buses.

Angry parents and students demonstrated outside Kildorrery National School yesterday, one of six schools in Co Cork threatened by the withdrawal of a Closed Schools agreement.

Under this agreement when small rural schools were closed and children were bused to larger, amalgamated schools, their bus travel was provided free.

Now, under the new proposals, all students will be charged a minimum of €50 to use the service but, if they live within two miles of the school, the fee will be €200.

Maria Noonan, a mother of five, who has three children attending the school, said 70% of the children attending the 116-pupil school would not qualify for the smaller fee under the proposals.

She claimed parents may be forced to drive children to school, increasing the carbon footprint.

There are limited set-down places for cars outside the school so, if more turn up, parents say the situation would prove chaotic, making it increasingly likely that accidents will occur.

They further claimed it flew in the face of the Department of Education’s own directives not to clog up the entrances to schools with unnecessary traffic.

“It’s not an issue about money. We don’t want to see this applied but, if it is, it should be made fair,” another parent, Kevin O’Flynn, said.

He argued it was very unfair to charge a pupil who lives nearer the school €200 when one living further away has only to pay €50. “If we don’t get a fair and equitable system we would be prepared to withdraw our children from the school.”

Acting principal Maria McInerney said the three buses which serve Kildorrery NS run services to secondary schools in Doneraile, Fermoy and Mitchelstown before they pick up the younger children on their return trips.

“The buses are already making money out of the secondary pupils and I think the charges being asked of parents for the primary school pupils are too much altogether,” Ms McInerney said.

Another parent, Jennifer Flynn, said the proposals were “discrimination against the rural population.”

Concerns were also raised that if parents withdraw their children from the scheme, some of the routes will be closed, because a minimum of 10 students is required to operate a service.