School bus drivers cut deal to avoid strike

Parents in the Indian Prairie, Oswego and Naperville school districts can breathe easier.

Officials at First Student Bus Company confirmed late Monday afternoon that a deal had been reached between the company and members of Teamsters Union Locals 179 and 673. The parties had been negotiating under threat of a strike since last week, when union members rejected a proposed contract.

The new deal will run for two years, according to Maureen Richmond, director of media relations for First Student. The deal was still tentative Monday afternoon, but Richmond said full ratification from the union's membership was expected very soon.

The new contract means school buses will run on time today. A strike would have halted 250 bus routes in Indian Prairie and portions of Naperville and Oswego school districts, as well as 34 Pace commuter shuttles.

Schools in all three districts were prepared to stay open even in the event of a strike, and all had developed alternative plans to help parents get their kids to and from school. According to Janet Buglio, spokeswoman for Indian Prairie, each of the district's schools had come up with ways to ease the burden on parents, including offering extended supervised hours, and had been working with Aurora and Naperville police to ease traffic flow.

On Monday afternoon, before word came down that the strike had been averted, parent Eileen Stephens was waiting for her son Mac, 7, with other parents at a bus stop in Aurora. Stephens has four children in the Indian Prairie District. Two are in high school, one is in middle school and Mac attends Owen Elementary in Naperville.

"It would just be a big inconvenience because all of us work," she said. "We already juggle the schedule to get them on and off the bus."

School districts had also set up communication plans to get word of a strike (or a contract resolution) out to parents quickly. Hot lines had been set up with regularly updated recorded messages, and e-mail messages were sent out with any new information.

"I want to thank First Student and its drivers for avoiding what would have been a major disruption in our community," said Indian Prairie Superintendent Kathy Birkett. "I also want to thank our parents for all their assistance in planning alternate ways to transport their children to school."

"We are obviously relieved to receive this good news," said Naperville District 203 Superintendent Mark Mitrovich. "We're thankful to our parents for their patience and to our educational partners who stepped forward to pledge their support, should this situation have ended differently."