A Kid in Need of Special Help: Education at its Worst

Hi All,

Here's a nasty 'education' story for you.

I need to tell you about my nephew, Spencer. He's a great kid...very sweet, gentle, and of course, we love him to bits. Spencer is a kid who struggles with school. It has never been easy for him. He is what I would call an "at risk" kid, but I'm not a doctor or a psychologist, so take that as you please. Spencer lives with his dad and younger brother, with very limited resources.
Spencer started high school this year. His high school is a good 50 minute walk from his house. It is far enough to be extremely discouraging for a young 14 year old boy who finds school a challenge to begin with. Add a heavy backpack, a busy highway, and a good Canadian winter, and we're not just talking about "a healthy walk" anymore.
Since August, my brother has been asking the school to provide bus service to pick up Spencer. He has to walk right by the bus stop on the way to school! The school is refusing. Let me show you a few things here.

The route, according to Google Maps, is 3.2 km from home to school: a 40 minute walk by their estimate, but 45 - 50 minutes in reality.

Here is a clip from the most recent letter received by my brother.

So, lemme get this straight... Spencer lives 3.2 km from school, according to Google Maps. The board has decided that he lives "under 3.2kms from the school and within the school's non transportation zone", according to ???
AND the BEST PART is that RATHER than let the kid on the bus which he has to walk by, they have decided to MOVE THE BUS STOP!!!!   Wow! That is just plain SPITEFUL!

Meanwhile, on FB,

They won't even call back to discuss it. Those of us who care about this boy are writing letters to the school asking for a bus ride for Spencer. It shouldn't be this difficult to get a needy kid on a bus.
I'd really like to hook you up with a link to send letters with us. I'm afraid of being sued. These are seriously not nice people.
I guess I'm so shocked because the teachers that I know are beautiful, caring, dedicated people who genuinely care about the kids they teach. Why would one school choose to do the absolute worst possible thing they can think of against one kid who needs help? I don't get it.

Thanks for reading.

***Update***
Want to help? Sign our petition. Thanks for caring!
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/put-spencer-mcintyre-on-the-bus.html