With the government of New Brunswick deeply in debt, some are suggesting the province could cut costs by taking its two fleets of school buses – one for English students and one for French – and combining them.

But that has touched off a debate in the officially bilingual province, where language issues remain sensitive.

Earlier this month, New Democrat leader Dominic Cardy sparked criticism for suggesting the province consider allowing francophone and anglophone students to take buses together, to reduce costs.

Then last week, Cardy pointed out that several dozen students were already travelling together on buses in some school districts.

That prompted two Conservative MLAs to raises questions of their own about the wisdom of having two separate school bus systems.

"Scarce Education resources should go to better schools and teachers, not a second set of buses," tweeted PC MLA Brian MacDonald.

On Monday, interim PC Leader Bruce Fitch issued a statement to affirm that the province is mandated to provide separate buses for anglophones and francophones.

“There can be no doubt that the Constitution of Canada, through the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, guarantees the equality of distinct education systems in New Brunswick,” Fitch’s statement read.

But the NDP says it wonders if the idea of education duality under the Charter extends to school buses.

As the debate continues, some New Brunswick residents say they don’t see what all the fuss is about.

“I was in French immersion for years and I found working on the same bus with multiple people with French immersion helped me quite a bit with my French studies over the years,” Fredericton resident Drew Lyons told CTV Atlantic Monday.

Others, though, argue that a single school bus system might diminish the use of a mother tongue.

The province's Education Minister Serge Rousselle said he’s aware of some francophone and anglophone students in the province who are currently travelling on the same school buses. He said he’s trying to change that.

"It’s very clear by the Supreme Court decision that we have to have distinct buses,” Rouselle said.

Meanwhile, the Liberal government is due to release its first budget Tuesday, which is expected to bring cuts to every department. The last fiscal update projected the province's debt to increase by $377 million for 2014-15, bringing its total net debt to $12 billion.

With a report from CTV Atlantic’s Nick Moore