School bus dispute leaves 60 children without transport

Approximately 60 children from Daugavpils have no bus to Biķernieku Basic School, 25 kilometres away in Augšdaugava Municipality, LSM reported. The municipality has blamed the situation on a student list submitted too late, while the school’s principal says the municipality has not signed a contract with the carrier.

As the two sides blame each other, parents must arrange their children’s transport to school.

Biķernieku Basic School has 150 students, about 120 of whom travel from Daugavpils. In recent years, the municipality provided bus transport for half of those children.

This year, however, parents did not see a school bus on September 1, 2 or 3.

“Today we brought our child to school by car, but how can we get the child to school regularly? That is the main question, because there is work and there are children,” said Sofija, the mother of a third-grade student at Biķernieku Basic School.

She said many children at the school have specific needs and cannot travel independently by bus. Some parents cannot afford regular transport, while others do not have a vehicle.

Although Sofija can take her child to school herself, she said this creates an additional burden for the family.

“It is difficult for us because there is work and there are other responsibilities. Taking the child every time is complicated. We have to plan in advance who can take the child to school and when, so that the child simply has the opportunity to study,” she said.

The municipality normally hires buses from carriers through a procurement process, but this year it has still not signed the contract.

Biķernieku Basic School principal Aleksejs Mackevičs said the procurement had been completed, a decision had been made and the contract had been sent to the carrier. The carrier signed it and was waiting for the Augšdaugava Municipality executive director to sign it, he said.

Augšdaugava Municipality executive director Pēteris Dzalbe said the procurement commission had concluded on August 11 that the contract could not be signed because the school budget was short of nearly 3,000 euros.

The municipality also said it had reviewed the readiness of all schools for the academic year on August 26.