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Schools and parents already have one hand tied behind their backs when it comes to funding extracurricular activities.

Now with Education Minister Kelly Lamrock's recent edict, which bans 15-passenger vans from school use and makes winter tires mandatory on approved school vehicles, the other hand is tied as well.

There is nothing wrong with the working group on extracurricular transportation's recommendations. They make complete sense in the aftermath of the tragic collision that took eight lives in Bathurst.

However, one recommendation is missing. That's the one that suggests the Department of Education give each school district the money with which to fund these recommendations - recommendations that Lamrock has shown every indication of making enforceable policy so districts have no choice but to comply.

And when asked, Lamrock said the responsibility for funding extracurricular activities remains with schools, which is political spin for "Don't look at me, because the answer is no."

So who is going to buy the winter tires for approved vehicles? Who is going to pay to rent buses and vans approved for transportation? Who is going to foot the bill for all the new rules?

Schools, of course, which, when it comes down to it, really means staff, students and most of all, parents.

Particularly affected are schools whose locations are isolated and rural - those that must travel a lengthy distance to play a hockey or soccer game.

Those schools, more likely to be small, also have the smallest pools of money from which to draw, even though the expenses are the same, or even greater because of the travel distances. Many of these teams and groups say they can't afford the demands of extracurricular travel now, so how are they going to cope with these changes?

Schools already bear the heavy burden of raising money to keep costs down. Now the bills for motor coach and school bus rentals will have to be paid in order for teams and groups to travel, and that means fundraising.

So get ready for these scenes you are likely to see repeated many times over the coming school year: more kids packing groceries at the local supermarkets for your spare change; more kids selling chocolate bars, raffle tickets, wrapping paper and magazines; more kids performing at coffee houses and variety shows in hopes you will pay to see them, more staff and students holding bake sales; and of course, more parents writing bigger cheques in order for their kids to be involved in all the activities that make them well-rounded students.

There is nothing wrong with making rules to ensure our children are safe when they travel. In fact, that is worthy of praise. But there is something wrong with expecting schools to fund 100 per cent of the changes imposed upon them.

It's an unrealistic decision on Lamrock's part, and it demands a second look.