Harrow High School ends busing program for students

Harrow High School students will no longer be bussed to General Amherst High School or Kingsville District High School for extracurricular activities or courses beginning September 2014.

On March 13, the Greater Essex County District School Board voted to end the bus program at the community’s request.

Penny Allen, GECDSB business superintendent, said since Harrow High School is a small school with a maximum of 300 to 350 students, it is difficult to offer all courses and extra-curricular activities. She also said the community wanted this to happen to keep students going to Harrow High School.

“They believe that if they keep letting students go to other high schools that eventually the school would become so small that it would have to close,” said Allen.

Considering this program does not end until 2014, this will not affect the students this year.

“They will be grandfathered, we won’t send them back to Harrow if it was planned all along to get their credit at Kingsville, for example,” said Allen. “It would only be new students registering for high school studying in September 2014.”

There are around 60 students who are currently busing in between General Amherst and Kingsville.

“The majority went to General Amherst, only a few went to Kingsville,” said Allen.

Allen said any courses Harrow does not to its students will have to set up through e-learning and if students can provide their own transportation, they may take part in extracurricular activities at other schools.