Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (Apr 03/02) - A severe shortage of school busing in Rankin Inlet has the local District Education Authority taking its concerns to the capital.

More than 800 people have signed a petition asking for better busing for students attending the hamlet's three schools.

DEA spokesperson Joyce Ayaruak says the Rankin Inlet DEA has been asking for additional bus funding for years.

Ayaruak says Rankin's population has almost doubled during the past 10 years and the student population in the hamlet's three schools has increased dramatically.

She says the current $45,000 in bus funding is inadequate, with the DEA only being able to provide student busing from the end of November to the beginning of March.

"March is a cold month in the Kivalliq and so is April," says Ayaruak.

"We have to limit the students who can use the bus to those in kindergarten to Grade 4 and we can only do areas five and six," she says.

"If you live way up by the tank farm, the weather doesn't get any warmer because you're 14 years old. We need busing for all our kids, whether they're in Grade 1 or Grade 12."

The petition was sent to Rankin MLAs Jack Anawak and Manitok Thompson, with the hope of being tabled in the legislative assembly to draw attention to the matter.

The Pulaarvik Kablu Friendship Centre has the current contract.

The centre employs one small bus and is transporting less than 20 per cent of the hamlet's student population.

"We need something done and we need it now. We have about 500 students attending school and we're managing to bus less than a 100," Ayaruak says.

The DEA would require at least four times its current bus funding to meet the community's needs.

Ayaruak says that funding has to come from Nunavut's Department of Education.

"If we don't get the funding increase we need, our teachers and DEA members become beggars. We'll have to solicit third-party funding to meet our needs. What kind of message is that sending to students and their parents?"