The Director of Catholic Education was alerted by many parents who had registered or re-registered their child entering 6th grade for the Region’s school transport service. The online form indicated to them that the Region did not cover school transport!
An unsuccessful first meeting on July 9
The three diocesan departments of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, the Catholic Education Management Organizations (OGEC) and the representatives of the parents of pupils of the APPEL were received by Michel Neugnot, vice-president of the regional council in charge of transport. The latter gave them a flat refusal, justifying the absence of possible support “linked to the necessary harmonization of school transport following the transfer of skills from the departments to the Region in 2017”
A cost of almost one million euros at the Franche-Comté level!
“The cost of school transport is a significant burden for the regional community” concedes Mireille Besseyre. The regional executive has enacted free school transport for all students residing and studying in the Region. This “political” decision must apply to all public or private educational establishments under contract.
She points out in passing that the financial burden for parents wishing to send their children to private schools is sometimes heavy between the school contribution and the canteen costs. “Unlike public education, the canteen is the exclusive responsibility of families.” Mireille Besseyre is all the more outraged by this discriminatory measure as many private Catholic education establishments participate in maintaining local education in rural areas…
She also points out that parents with modest incomes choose private education under contract!
Mireille Besseyre fully accepts this need for harmonization. However, she disputes the lack of consultation prior to the decision. “How can we put hundreds of parents of students faced with the absence of a school transport service a few weeks before the start of the school year? How can we imagine that the OGECs can take charge of this additional cost without it being budgeted for? How can we also force certain parents to finance their children’s school transport?”
Is this an ideological position of the Region?
Michel Neugnot denies it. All regions are concerned. The vice-president of the regional council cites the example of the AURA region (Auvergne Rhône-Alpes) where parents contribute financially to school transport according to their income (public and private).
However, one can doubt the neutrality of the BFC Region when reading a recent statement by Michel Neugnot. “It was abnormal to provide public resources for transport that only serves private establishments” !
“I do not negotiate through the press”
When asked, Michel Neugnot refused to provide any answers, preferring “the ongoing negotiations between Catholic education and the Region’s services”.
In the background, Michel Neugnot admits that there was no negotiation prior to the start of the school year. A meeting between the parties is scheduled for September 6, which should result in an agreement that does not jeopardize either the budget of the OGECs or the purchasing power of the families concerned.
A legal doubt?
The Law establishes the principle of freedom of education, just as sectorization does not apply to private education under contract.
However, the internal regulations of BFC school transport specify “the care of students enrolled in a private establishment under contract with the State is ensured on condition that the municipality of the private establishment attended is the same as that of the public reference establishment… the public reference establishment being the public school establishment in which the student would have been educated in application of the education code, if he or she had not been enrolled in a private establishment under contract.”
In the absence of a public reference establishment, families who choose private education should therefore take charge of all school transport… This could mean that in certain rural areas, freedom of education is limited to the public school sector!
Marie-Guite Dufay decides to postpone the harmonization of regulations by one year
The Region finally reacted this Wednesday, August 28, by indicating via a press release:
“In recent months, the Region has initiated work to harmonize the rules of access to school transport for all students in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.
This development aims to put an end to the inequalities of treatment caused by the multitude of regulations in force in the different departments of the Region, while maintaining completely free school transport in the territory, in the sectors where the Region is competent.
Thus, the new school transport regulations have led to significant progress, allowing in particular, at the start of the school year, all boarders enrolled in public and private establishments to benefit from free transport on existing lines of the regional network.
And to clarify regarding private education:
“Discussions aimed at harmonizing the contribution of Catholic Education Management Bodies to the financing of school transport were initiated during the summer period. As difficulties persist in certain departments, the President of the Region, Marie-Guite Dufay, has decided to maintain the services and the conditions of access to them for the 2024-2025 school year, in order to allow time for negotiations with Catholic education establishments to take place under the best possible conditions.
All students, including those newly registered for transport for the 2024-2025 school year, will therefore be able to be transported free of charge on existing Mobigo transport networks: school routes, regular lines or train.
Yves Quemeneur (with CK)
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