Students at two rural school boards near Ottawa could be without transportation when classes begin next week as an impasse with bus drivers threatens to disrupt back-to-school planning.
The Renfrew County District School Board and its Catholic counterpart have been locked in unsuccessful talks with school bus companies.
“This means there is the possibility of a service disruption in September,” the two boards wrote in their statement.
“We realize this may bring stress to what should be a positive last month before the start of another year of learning.”
The boards have said the sticking point is an attempt to renew old contracts with school bus companies without having the financial means to offer much more money. A joint statement from the two boards said they were trying to table a reasonable offer “without draining dollars” from the school budget.
Ontario NDP education critic Chandra Pasma said the issue stems from changes to the funding formula made by the Ford government under former education minister Stephen Lecce.
“He shortchanged school boards and school bus operators,” she wrote in a social media post. “Now students in Renfrew County won’t have buses next week.”
A spokesperson for current Education Minister Jill Dunlop fiercely denied the claim.
The government said the Renfrew County boards had received substantial funding increases from year to year. For the two Renfrew boards, officials pointed to increases to the transportation budget this year of more than 10 per cent each.
“Our government has increased funding to school boards, enhanced wages for bus drivers and invested in strengthening safety of school buses to ensure children can reliably get to and from school,” they said in a statement sent to Global News.
“While school boards are entirely responsible for the delivery of student transportation, we hope a contract will be negotiated soon so parents have certainty and students are able to get to school.”
The government has maintained that transportation arrangements are entirely a local issue for school boards to negotiate are not something Queen’s Park would typically involve itself with.
Both the Renfrew boards, meanwhile, are asking the school bus companies to provide services next week while a new deal is negotiated. The boards said they are also looking at other companies that might be able to offer transport instead.
Classes for students at the two boards start for the new year on Wednesday, Sept. 4.