Cost of replacing vans may impact programming

The New Brunswick government's request that schools stop using 15-seat vans for extracurricular activities could lead to the end of some sports programs, says the president of the provincial athletic association.

In the wake of a crash near Bathurst that killed eight people, seven high school basketball players and a teacher, the government on Friday temporarily banned the use of the vehicles to transport students to school.

Education Minister Kelly Lamrock also asked that schools discontinue the use of the vans for extracurricular activities. But the ultimate decision on the means for transportation for off-site activities was left with the school districts.

All the school districts in the province are likely to implement the suspension, said Doug Prescott, president of the New Brunswick Interscholastic Athletic Association and principal of Riverview High School in Riverview, just south of Moncton.

But the switch to school buses will be costly, Prescott said, and many schools may cut sports that are also offered outside of school.

"Maybe it is no longer feasible, maybe we no longer need to duplicate what communities are doing extremely well in some sports," Prescott said, drawing on the example of golf. "Possibly we can reduce the number of sports that we're running."

The provincial ban runs until the end of the current school year. The province has established an interdepartmental working group to review student transportation guidelines in the province and develop long-term guidelines regarding the use of the 15-seat vehicles.

The ban could also mean added cost for the districts that they may not be able to take on, Prescott said.

"They've maintained they've had insurance placed on these vehicles and now to have to revert to something totally different, certainly in the short-term, it's going to be an added cost to them."

Schools are already trying to come up with alternate forms of transportation, he said, and are hoping that the provincial government will provide some financial help.

The costs are a concern, agreed Karen Branscombe, superintendent of School District 2 in Moncton.

"We'll certainly be looking at what the additional costs are for the schools and working perhaps with the department," Branscombe said. "Certainly the schools will be working with us to offset those costs."

Community groups can still use vans

The ban does not apply to community groups, but many are also struggling with the decision on what to do with the vans, said Greg Hickox, executive director of the Riverview Boys and Girls Club.

Eliminating the vehicles would have a huge impact on the services the club is able to offer, Hickox said. Hickox said he has spent a considerable amount of time since the fatal accident assuring parents that the vans are only used within city limits and are driven carefully.

"I sent out a letter to the parents to assure them that we have experienced drivers and the best of studded winter tires on our vans to maybe put their minds at ease," Hickox said.

Safety issues have been raised about the extended-seating vans since the accident. Several jurisdictions in the United States and Canada have banned schools from using this type of van.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued several advisories about the dangers of the 15-passenger vans. About 1,100 people in the U.S. were killed in single-vehicle rollovers in the vans between 1992 and 2002. Such vans were found to be three times more likely to roll over than any other vehicle.

The RCMP and Transport Canada are still continuing to investigate the accident.

Icy road conditions, not the type of vehicle the victims were travelling in, were likely the key factor in the crash, Transport Canada investigation co-ordinator Frank Wilson said on Wednesday.

The RCMP reported snow-covered roads in the area at the time of the accident and the van was not outfitted with snow tires.