Negotiations ongoing as school buses remain off the roads in Renfrew County

The Renfrew County Joint Transportation Consortium (RCJTC) says talks with the county's school bus operators have reached another standstill following discussions Wednesday.

More than 10,000 elementary and secondary school students in Renfrew County have been without school bus transportation this semester as the contract between the bus operators and the RCJTC expired.

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In an update Wednesday evening, the RCJTC said bus operators rejected two increased contract offers from the consortium.

"The representatives for the school bus companies maintained the position that a multi-year contract starting with a 20% increase in Year 1 with a total increase of 35% over 5 years is the only offer they would accept," a news release said. "This is the same position the school bus companies have maintained since August 30, and would result in $8.8 million dollars over the five years being transferred from other areas of the school boards' budgets to transportation, impacting services to students."

The RCJTC said it has offered increases of between 12 and 18 per cent in year one with an additional 2 per cent per year for the remaining four years, leading to an increase of between 20 and 26 per cent over five years.

"For the last offer made on October 2, over $4 million dollars over five years would need to be transferred from other areas of the school boards' budgets to transportation, impacting services to students," the RCJTC said.

"The latest offer, if accepted, would see school bus companies in Renfrew County holding one of the richest contracts in the province."

Bus operators have said their costs have increased between 30 and 70 per cent since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

RCJTC general manager Justin Jeffrey said it is "hugely disappointing" that the latest offers were not accepted.

"We've been working with both the school boards and the Ministry of Education to identify any possible solution to help close the gap between funding and contract rate expectations and get service running for students. The bus companies have indicated they are not willing to budge," he said.

"We know how hard this situation has been on families across the county and we have been coming back to the table to find a solution that would work. At the same time, we haven't been provided with any concrete financial data to justify the massive increase the operators are demanding from the school boards. The school boards can't be expected to keep pulling money out of classrooms."

"I don't see a quick finish to this," said Karen Littlewood, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation.

"It's really frustrating for the ministry to not be stepping in and to allow this to happen," adds Littlewood. "I can't help but feel if this was happening in Toronto or Peel or Niagara, that there might have been some action."

In a statement to CTV News, Edyta McKay, spokesperson for Education Minister Jill Dunlop, said:

"Our government is keeping a close eye on this matter and strongly encourages the school boards in Renfrew County and the local transportation consortium to reach an agreement quickly so that students and parents get the transportation services they need to get to school safely."

"I want them to step in," said Chandra Pasma, MPP for Ottawa West-Nepean and the NDP Education Critic.

"The solution is not going to be mediation because the problem is the funding. The only way this get solved is if the province steps up with additional funding."

The province says for the 2024-25 school year, the Renfrew County Catholic District School Board was projected to receive a $1-million, or 14 per cent increase, over last year.

The Renfrew County District School Board was projected to receive a $1.2-million, or 11 per cent, increase.

A virtual town hall is being held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday where parents, students, and concerned community members are encouraged to speak on the impacts of the bussing situation.