The Catholic representative on Dundee City Council’s education committee has claimed the withdrawal of a bus service to St John’s High is undermining Catholic education.
Monsignor Ken McCaffrey, Vicar General of the Diocese of Dunkeld, spoke after the decision by National Express to cut its 4S service, which took several dozen pupils from the west end to the school one of only two Catholic secondaries in the city.
The company previously explained this was done for financial reasons as the route was uneconomic. However, parents remain upset and have complained that the alternative services available have added considerably to the time their children spend travelling each day and can leave them late for class.
Monsignor McCaffrey and Katy Dundas, the chairwoman of St John’s parent council, have turned their fire on the council, claiming it has not done enough to support the pupils.
The monsignor said: ”The church fully supports the efforts of St John’s parent council to have this situation addressed as a matter of urgency. At a recent meeting of the education committee, discussing the standardising of the school day, I was ruled out of order by the education convener when I raised the subject of school transport.
”Despite that, I was eventually given an assurance that the parent council would be involved in discussions on the provision of school transport in the city. However, we are also concerned that Mrs Dundas was told by the convener there is no money to subsidise transport to St John’s, yet the parent council has learned there is apparently a substantial amount of cash sitting in the transportation budget unspent and not legally committed that would pay for a tendered service many times over.
”We feel the delay in addressing this issue is unacceptable. The October break is upon us, the clocks are changing, and this issue needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. We feel the provision of Catholic education for children in the west end of the city is being undermined, ultimately restricting educational choice for families who wish to have their children educated in a Catholic school.”
Monsignor McCaffrey said the diocese is now urging education convener Liz Fordyce to address the matter.
Mrs Dundas said: ”Many families are affected by this and these families have a growing sense of frustration and a sense that, despite their pleas for help, no effort is being made by Dundee City Council to resolve the situation.
”These children live in the catchment area for St John’s and their parents chose this school, knowing of, and subsequently using, the 4S bus service. We find it completely unacceptable that this service is being removed simply for a money-saving exercise.
“Many buses in this city run at a loss, but are subsidised by Dundee City Council, because they provide a much-needed service for local communities. Surely the continuation of this school bus should also be considered a service?
“Our parents are not asking for a free bus service, they are quite happy to continue to pay for it.
”At the moment, many of the children who are using the recommended alternative bus services arrive at school late every morning, despite leaving home half an hour earlier than they did previously. We find this unacceptable.
”We urge Dundee City Council to make a commitment to continue to support Catholic education as an integral part of parental choice, by reinstating this bus service immediately.
”It is our view that, unless this happens, educational choices for families in the west end of the city will become restricted and ultimately our school roll will suffer.”
Councillor Fraser Macpherson said: ”Around 43 pupils are affected and when we get into the darker days and wintry weather very soon, the situation will worsen. The council must look proactively at either a minibus solution or a tendered service.”
He added: ”The bottom line is that there is £135,000 sitting at present unspent and not legally committed in the city council’s registered bus services budget. It would be outrageous if we get into the winter months without this matter being properly resolved.”
A city council spokesman said: ”Dundee City Council has not subsidised school bus services in the city for more than 15 years.”