Good afternoon,

We have heard from families and students how difficult these first few weeks of school have been, and we want you to know that we are deeply empathetic to the challenges you have faced without student transportation. We are committed to walking this journey with you in faith and understanding. Your patience and resilience are truly commendable, and we pray for the strength and grace to navigate this crisis together. We are grateful for all that the community has done to help students get to school safely.

We have also heard that this situation is causing financial hardship for some of our families.

Kristen Niemi, the Director of Education for RCDSB and myself will be attending a meeting with local bus companies on Monday. I commit to ensuring that the voices of our families and students are heard and valued and that everyone understands the great stress this situation is causing. Your insights and experiences as parents and guardians are vital to our shared goal of getting buses on the roads.

We have been in regular contact with the Ministry of Education to explore all possible options for restoring student transportation services.

Additionally, we are working urgently with the Ministry to explore the possibility of financial compensation for families without school bus service and will share details as soon as possible. We understand that this is not a solution, but we hope to mitigate some financial strain that the transportation disruption may have caused for families.

We are working hard to find solutions and hope to share positive news for our families and students in future updates. We also recognize this is not the update you would hope to see after three weeks without transportation, but please know we are doing all that we can to end this disruption to transportation services.

Your prayers are a source of strength and hope.

Yours in Catholic Education,

Mark Searson

Director of Education

RCCDSB Weekly Update September 20