A yellow school bus from the Central Okanagan School District.

(JOHN MCDONALD / iNFOnews.ca)

After a lengthy discussion, the Central Okanagan school board agreed to cancel school bus transportation for June, says board chair Moyra Baxter.

“There wasn’t really an option, there were just too many challenges when providing regular bus services,” she said.

Central Okanagan school district staff recommended that regular routes should be cancelled for the remainder of the school year due to the part-time nature of the school programs, and because of the challenges with adjusting the routes and ensuring proper social distancing measures are followed by both the drivers and students, according to a memo presented to the board last Wednesday, May 27.

Special needs buses will still be in service during this time.

The board also agreed to reduce transportation fees to parents by 30 per cent, as the buses were only available for seven out of their regular 10 months of service.

Moyra noted that if students were in dire need of transportation, they can get in touch with their school’s principal to determine alternative options.

Roughly half of the school district’s students indicated they will be returning to the classroom in June.

If one or two cases of COVID-19 appear in B.C. as a result of in-class learning starting back up,  B.C.'s provincial health officer won't be surprised.

READ MORE: A few COVID-19 cases with B.C.'s return to in-class learning won't be surprising to health officials

"That’s OK. We know how to deal with this and we know we can prevent it," Dr. Bonnie Henry said in a news conference, May 30.

Referring to Quebec, and the 40-plus cases of COVID-19 related to its schools re-opening, Dr. Henry said most of those transmissions had to do with an adult bringing the disease into the school and that should be addressed with B.C.'s school restart plans.

Ultimately, however,  she understands there's some anxiety around the idea though back-to-school should be viewed as a positive step forward.  

"This is very exciting and I know for some people, they're thinking about this with trepidation, and that is fine," Dr. Henry said. "We are ready for this. And we are reopening schools because we believe it is safe to do so."

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