Westport Schools Superintendent Elliott Landon today warned parents of a possible school bus drivers strike Monday and urged them to make alternate arrangements.
Elliott Landon: Urges parents to form car pools. Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
In an e-mail to parents, Landon said if negotiations fail at 12:01 a.m. Monday with drivers employed by New Britain-based Dattco, its bus company, there will be no bus service.
“I urge you to consider forming car pools during this critical period,” Landon said.
“The Westport Police Department has arranged to provide additional traffic officers to direct traffic at high volume locations to ease the strain of traffic on our local roads and at each of our school sites.”
Landon also urged parents to make every effort to have their children arrive at school approximately 30 minutes prior to their normal school start times.
This would enable school activities to take place in accordance with regular school schedules, he said.
“To accommodate the increased automobile traffic that is anticipated with parent drop-offs, you may use both the parent drop off area and the bus loop at each school in the morning,” he said.
Landon said staff members will be in the schools “to accommodate and protect the safety of those students who may arrive earlier than their usual arrival time.”
He said if a strike does take place, all before and after school activities at the elementary schools will be canceled.
Landon said specifics as to the arrangements surrounding drop-offs and pick-ups and other pertinent information will be e-mailed to parents b building principals on Friday.
He said should the school system learn before 12:01 a.m. on Monday that a strike has been averted, it will notify all families via e-mail and will place a message on its “Sno-line” (203) 341-1766.
Should there not be a settlement by 6 a.m. on Monday, he said the school system will notify parents through a telephone message that they will need to make alternative arrangements to get students to school and to pick them up at the end of the day.
“Again, I urge you to do your best to form car pools in the event this potential strike actually occurs,” Landon’s e-mail concluded.
Four years ago, Landon issued a similar warning to parents when a strike was threatened. The strike was averted less than 24 hours before it was set to begin. (See WestportNow Sept. 30, 2008)
