Parents of the 50,000 kids who take the bus to get to school in the London area may be left scrambling to find transportation for their children when classes resume on September 4.
The Thames Valley District School Board and the London District Catholic School Board have been unable to reach a new contract with the Southwestern Ontario School Bus Operators, a consortium of local bus operators. That has led the school boards to advise parents to consider making alternate transportation arrangements ahead of the start of the school year.
"We recognize that a possible disruption in service will create significant inconvenience to many families... Parents/guardians should take the time now to consider alternate transportation arrangements such as carpooling or public transportation, where available, in the event of a service disruption," the boards stated in a joint letter sent to parents.
During a news conference Monday afternoon, school board officials did not get into specifics of what they have offered bus operators but noted the labour dispute is about more than money.
TVDSB Associate Director Jeff Pratt, LDCSB Business Superintendent Jacquie Davison, and STS Chief Administrative Officer Maureen Cosyn Heath
"Funding is in dispute but there is also philosophical questions as to how we come to resolution as well," said Jacquie Davison, business superintendent at the London District Catholic school board.
She went on to state that the latest offer did take into account the minimum wage increase that took effect on January 1.
"We obviously know that bus drivers are very important and require that increase in their salary, so we believe the offer we have made is sufficient to allow the bus operators to flow that increase to the drivers," said Davison.
Full school bus service in the London region has never been cancelled as a result of a contract dispute. While both sides have said they are willing to return to the negotiating table, no new talks are scheduled.
"We have always enjoyed a very good relationship with our local bus companies and we would be more than willing to continue the discussions, noting that we are very far apart on several key factors," said Maureen Cosyn Heath, the chief administrative officer for the boards' Southwestern Ontario Student Transportation Services.
The school boards are working on contingency plans in the event the labour dispute is not settled before the first day of school on September 4.
"There is other options we can look at in terms of service providers," said Cosyn Heath. "We can look at things like public transit for high school in our communities that have public transit available and then we will work with our school staff to see what we can come up with for families who may not be serviced by public transit."
The Ontario government has been made aware of the potential service disruption, but there is no indication it would intervene in the negotiations.
The Southwestern Ontario School Bus Operators is made up of seven bus companies and is contracted by the school boards to provide transportation for students.