Dear Coventry Families,

You may have heard through various media outlets that there is the possibility of a school bus drivers strike in Coventry. Some of you may be aware that Coventry Public Schools does not employ those who drive buses for our students. The district contracts with M & J Bus to provide this transportation. As such, we were hopeful that over the past few months an agreement between M & J and the Teamsters Union, which represents the drivers, would have been reached by now.

As of today, the parties have not been able to reach an agreement, which means there is a real possibility that effective September 1, bus transportation for your child(ren) will not be available. Should this happen, we are asking parents to make arrangements to transport their child(ren) to and from school.

Please know, we truly apologize for the burden this could potentially place on families. To assist with this challenge, each school will be providing supervision for students beyond traditional school hours. See the schedule below for the new extended supervision hours, should the bus drivers go on strike.

Coventry Grammar School and G. H. Robertson School
● Students can start being dropped off at 7:30 a.m.
● All students must be picked up no later than 4:30 p.m.

Capt. Nathan Hale Middle School and Coventry High School
● Students can start being dropped off at 7:00 a.m.
● All students must be picked up no later than 4:15 p.m.

A few items of which to be aware:
● Should an agreement be reached between M & J Bus and the Teamsters prior to September 1, we will notify families immediately.
● We kindly ask that families only use this extended supervision if necessary to avoid overwhelming the system.
● This potential strike would also impact the operation of our late bus service, which will affect our athletes and those who stay for other after school activities.
● To ensure we have adequate supervision, we ask that families sign up for this service by completing a google form for each school at which your child(ren) attends.

Please complete a form for each child by clicking the link below:

CGS: CGS Extended Supervision Form
GHR: GHR Extended Supervision Form
CNH: CNH Extended Supervision Form
CHS: CHS Extended Supervision Form

Again, we are optimistic that an agreement will be reached before September 1 and it will not be necessary to implement this extended schedule. However, I felt this notice was necessary to give families ample time to plan.

Best,
David

David J. Petrone, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Coventry Public Schools
1700 Main Street
Coventry, CT 06238
860-742-7317 ext 2