Officials from the Burlington School District are asking parents to plan ahead with the threat of a strike by CCTA bus drivers looming.

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Burlington's school board met Thursday night and discussed the possibility of paying Mountain Transit to bus students next week if a threatened strike by Chittenden County Transportation Authority drivers comes to pass. Superintendent Jeanne Collins said that would cost approximately $2,700 a day. The board voted the idea down.Using the WPTZ app? Tap here to see this story's video.Union representatives said they are not happy with a contract proposed by management. Negotiations failed last month, and the union voted to strike if an agreement is not met before March 15. Another round of negotiations is scheduled for Saturday.In the meantime, Jeanne Collins, superintendent of Burlington schools, wants parents to start making transportation plans now.A robocall went out to parents Wednesday night to alert them to the situation. Collins said about 60 percent of students use the CCTA to get to and from school. She said the district is not mandated to provide bus service."I also can't simply ignore that this work stoppage is going to significantly disrupt learning and the ability of our families to get kids to school, so I need to worry about it and at least look at the options that are in front of us," said Collins.The superintendent said the administration would work with police for an anticipated increase in drop-off traffic at schools. Officials are also prepping to accept late arrivals."I think it might affect the timing of when kids get to school, and I also need to be thinking about that because parents are trying to figure out how to do that and still manage their own work schedule when they used to get their child on the bus. It could be problematic," said Collins.Of the estimated 2,500 students potentially affected by this possible strike, one is Sara Dessau's student."Without the CCTA bus, our lesson won't be able to happen," Dessau said.She rides the bus with a visually impaired child each week to teach him how to use transportation."If we don't have that, it's going to mess up his schedule,and he'll just have a setback as far as learning how to use the public transportation system," said Dessau.She has her fingers crossed that negotiations are successful on Saturday."I just would really like to see the buses continue to run as normal," said Dessau.Burlington's mayor, Miro Weinberger, feels the same way. He issued a statement late Thursday saying he encourages union representatives and CCTA management to "work hard to find a fair resolution to what appear to be surmountable challenges."He seconded Collins' request that parents plan ahead, in case the strike does go through.