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Parents in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt are being forced to drive hundreds of kilometres a day to get their children to and from school after being told the local buses are full.
Key points:
- Alyce Paterson drives more than 100km twice a day to get her son to school
- She says there is a closer school, but it is smaller and does not suit her son’s needs
- School bus seats are only guaranteed for students attending their closest school
Alyce Paterson has three children and runs a farm with her husband near Pingelly, about 150 kilometres south-east of Perth.
She chose to send her oldest child, 12-year-old Deegan, to Narrogin Senior High School rather than a smaller school in the local district.
But Ms Paterson said the Public Transport Authority (PTA) told her Deegan would not be able to use the school bus with his classmates as the local school buses were at capacity.
She said several other families in the area were facing the same problem.
“It’s a huge time commitment … Narrogin is about 56 kilometres to where I live, so to go to Narrogin and back in the morning and then again in the afternoon its over 200 kilometres,” she said.
“It means that I am away so I can’t help out [on the farm] as much. I have two children who go in the other direction to school, so I am having to get help to send them the other way.
“It’s a big, big thing for our family.”
‘It’s a fundamental thing to ongoing education’
Ms Paterson said the lack of suitable bus options angered parents, with family members holding a protest in Pingelly recently to pressure the PTA to provide more transport.
“It’s not only going to affect this year’s students, but also next year’s,” she said.
“It’s a fundamental thing to ongoing education for everyone in the community.
“It does need to be resolved and resolved pretty quickly. It’s unfair on us as parents, we haven’t had a lot of time.”
Ms Paterson said Brookton District High School was much closer to the family farm, but did not suit her son’s needs.
“It’s a lot smaller and cannot provide the things that Narrogin does,” she said.
“As a parent it’s my choice to send my child to where I would like them to go. Narrogin is just a better fit for my child.”
Parents ‘promised’ transport to chosen school
Ms Paterson said when the WA Government closed Pingelly District High School in 2005, it gave families assurances.
“When they shut our Pingelly District High School, they promised they would supply us with transport to either school of our choice — Brookton or Narrogin,” she said.
But PTA spokesman David Hynes said existing guidelines stipulated students were only entitled to a seat on the local school bus if it was the nearest public school in their district.
“The Public Transport Authority has a finite budget, and as with all areas of the organisation, our School Bus Services (SBS) division has a responsibility to ensure taxpayer dollars are directed to areas of most need, and in accordance with our policies,” he said.
Mr Hynes said non-entitled children were allowed a seat, but only if there were spares, and there was no guarantee a seat would be available.
“The closest appropriate school for Pingelly students attending Year 7 to Year 10 is Brookton District High School, so the students to which you refer are not eligible for transport to Narrogin,” he said.
“Narrogin Senior High School is the closest appropriate school only for those Pingelly students attending Year 11 and 12.
“If there are spare seats, we can allow non-entitled students access to orange school buses on the strict proviso they can no longer travel if an eligible student needs the seat. This is known as ‘complimentary status’.”
Narrogin enrolments on the rise
Mr Hynes said the 2019 school year had seen an increase in the demand from complimentary status students.
“Some complimentary students have been wait-listed, as the buses are full. There are currently seven non-eligible [or] complimentary students who are on the wait-list for a service from Pingelly to Narrogin Senior High School,” Mr Hynes said.
“While PTA respects the rights of parents to choose which educational institute their children attend, if they are not eligible for transport assistance to the school in question, it is a parent’s responsibility to make their own arrangements to transport their child to school.”
The Department of Education said school bus routes and issues were handled by the PTA.
It confirmed enrolments at Narrogin Senior High School had risen by 15 this year, but said those type of fluctuations were normal.
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