Thousands of families across Renfrew County could be without school bus service this fall as local school bus operators are still without a contract.
The Renfrew County Joint Transportation Consortium (RCJTC), which is funded through the Ministry of Education and both the local public and Catholic boards, announced on Monday, Aug. 12 that school bus operators had rejected the most recent contract offer and are refusing to provide service without finalized contracts.
Local bus operators say they have faced 30-70 per cent increases in costs to keep buses running safely and that their peers in neighbouring jurisdictions are getting rates up to 20 per cent higher than in Renfrew County.
“It is time for newly appointed Minister of Education Todd Smith to fix broken funding protocols that have left the Renfrew County Joint Transportation Consortium (RCJTC) unwilling to negotiate fairly,” said Mark Allan, a spokesperson for the local bus operators, in a press release.
The bus operators say they have been trying to work out a fair deal for nearly a year, but claim RCJTC refused to meaningfully engage and their last offer of 12 per cent falls “woefully short” of the increase in costs to operate.
According to RCJTC, in the past, student transportation services always continued even while contract details were under negotiation and this is a departure from standard practice.
“RCJTC wants to make it clear that we have enormous respect and appreciation for the school bus drivers and the important role they play in students’ education,” said Justin Jeffrey, RCJTC general manager. “While we are hoping for and working toward contract extensions, at issue here is the massive increase to rates the school bus companies are requesting. We have already offered unprecedented and substantial increases. Meeting those requests is impossible within the existing transportation budgets without pulling dollars from schools and student programming.”
RCJTC officials say they understand the negative impact a lack of student transportation services would have on many families and that getting students safely to school is the primary goal, which is why families and students need to be aware of this situation, in order to consider an alternative plan to get students to school if necessary.
(Written by Sherry Haaima)