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I went out last night to buy my daughters their bus passes for November, and I figured I'd pick up a box of cookies that Ross Independent claimed was on sale and at the end of it, I had to fork out $176!!! Holy crap that is an expensive box of cookies, what were they made out of gold?

No wait, let me just check the bill here again, oh wait a minute, each of the bus passes is $58.25, so if I buy three of them, that costs me $174.75, ah now I understand. Hold on, if I have to do this for the next 6 months (at least), this is going to cost me $1048.50 ? I'm confused: my kids are going to public schools, where allegedly their education is supposed to be free (ok, let's say "affordable" for a better argument, since NOTHING in this world is actually free). Now I am out of pocket over $1200.00 to pay to get my kids to school for a school year? This seems to me, a ridiculous savings, for someone, and a huge GRAB for someone else.

I have pointed out this point to my school trustees previously (not the comment about ludicrously expensive cookies, but the fact that I am out of pocket a big whack of change just to get my kids to school). Their response usually starts with a "oh that's too bad", but once I press the issue, I am given the "party line" about the expenses the school board has and how they don't get enough funding from whatever level of government that are supposed to be funding them. I get sympathy, a little empathy and bupkis in terms of satisfaction or help.

The only help I get this year, is that at least these bus passes qualify for the Federal Conservative Mass Transit rebate, but, why is it that the Separate Board of Ottawa Carleton can afford to bus ALL of their kids, yet as soon as my kids hit Grade 7, I am the one responsible for this?

What do I want? I think either help with the cost of the bus passes, or some consideration for parents that are forced to do this. I will be passing this rant on to my School Board trustees (who are coincidently being elected in a week), and my provincial member of Parliament as well.

Not a bad rant for a Monday, I think. My apologies to Ross' Independent, who's cookies are not as expensive as I first thought. --C8j

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