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More parents concerned with school board‘s busing limits Continued from page 1 They were able to conâ€" vince school board trustees to come out to their neighâ€" bourhood in the Cedarbrae Avenue area of Waterloo and walk the route. That route took the trustees 50 minutes to walk, and included boardâ€"recomâ€" mended short cuts that took students into the undevelâ€" oped area behind Albert McCormick Arena, across some unguarded railway tracks, and down the busy Albert Street corridor. The walk was done on a clear day, and didn‘t take weather _ factors _ into account, like rain or snow. "I wouldn‘t ride my bike down there during rush hour, yet they are expecting my 11â€"yearâ€"old daughter to do that on a daily basis," said Davis. For residents of nearby Sunnydale Place, an area of lowâ€"income housing, resiâ€" dents‘ safety concerns were compounded by the fact that they had few financial options to help them get their kids to school. Cheryl Allain, a mother of six girls ranging in age from one to 19, said some months it came down to a choice between putting food on the table and comâ€" ing up with the money to buy a bus pass for one of her daughters. "I‘m on a fixed income, so at times it was either bus or food," said Allain. "So we had to find a way to get them to school. "They either had to city bus it or walk. I didn‘t want to let them walk that far and had to worry everyday if they made it or not." Living on social assisâ€" tance, she did the best she could and bought oneâ€"way bus tickets when she couldâ€" n‘t afford passes. But with two daughters at MacGregor at the same time, she couldâ€" n‘t afford to give them each passes. _ That meant that one daughter would take the bus in the morning and The other would walk in the morning and bus it home at night. â€" walk home at night That presented its own challenges on days when the weather took a turn for the worse. "When it‘s pouring rain or freezing cold outside, the kids are going to say, ‘Do I have to walk,"" said Allain. "You have to tell them, yes, they have to walk to school, because you don‘t have money for the bus. "If the parent isn‘t strong enough to say they have to go to school, then a lot of times kids won‘t go to school for those reasons." The ability to pay for transportation shouldn‘t be an impediment for chilâ€" dren to get to school in a public system, especially when education is so important to help break Frames, Pictures, Plaks Bradford Exchange, Plates & Ornaments Enter Our Free Draw For A FRAMED PICTURE Value $350. City Couns. Brent Needham and Morty Taylor served up sausages during the Mayor‘s Oktoberfest community lunch Thursday at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex; while Jannette Netherton tried a festive hat on daughter, Isabelle. Ein Prosit ANDREA BAKLEY PHOTOS "I just don‘t understand the system and how it works," said Allain. "The government finds money to give to people who don‘t need it. that cycle of poverty. "I‘m not looking for a handout, 1 just think our children‘s education is important, and we need some help there." Davis said the parents‘ council at Cedarbrae is joinâ€" ing concerned parents at Lester B. Pearson public school in their fight to have transportation put on the agenda of the school fundâ€" ing taskforce headed by Mordecai Rozanski. They will join a petition being brought to the public school board Oct. 21, asking local trustees to support the call to have the province review transportation fundâ€" ing. "I find it very frustrating that the safety of our chilâ€" dren is being compromised by the provincial funding model not making allowances," said Davis, whose other daughter Sarah will be in the same situation as her older sibling next year. "So I guess that‘s what we have to do. "We‘ve gone as far as the board, and now we have to go up a step. We have to take our fight to the province." ~CHOOSE FROM A HUGE SELECTION \_â€"__â€"â€"~â€" ~A&LL PRICES TO MOVE!! 4 door, 3. 41 Â¥6, 4 speed automatic. traction control, ABS, air, AM/FM/ 1: Cassette/CD, power windows, power locks, cruise, aluminum wheels, tilt, power sunroof, dual airbags Balance of factory warranty & roadside asistance 2002 ALERO GL ’Northdal Auto Boduves $ Complete Collision and Refinishing Service \ 430 Albert Street, Waterloo 88 ‘16,488 STARTING AT 12 1& 13 I