Bus driver strike could impact athletics

getting ready for it. if it happens, it would be the first of its kind in state history. the school bus drivers want the company that hired them … to give them more sick days and fewer students on each bus. school board members voted last week not to take action in court that could keep those drivers behind the wheel. abc-seven’s jamie warren continues our complete coverage live from las cruces… she is with our new mexico mobile newsroom … rick and estela … high school athletics could be greatly impacted if the bus drivers walk out. boys and girls baseball, softball, tennis golf and track are heading down the stretch with critical season ending competition. but if there are no buses to transport student athletes, the district says it’ll force teams to forfeit. pkg gil padilla las cruces high baseball coach 6:37;37 we continue going after our goal of winning district and going to the state tournament and winning the state tournament but that goal could be stopped by something other than a loss on the field. “i vote no” la week, a divided board voted not to seek an injunction that might have temporarily prevented a strike. they urged the district’s transportation contractor and the union to negotiate once again. the union says it’s not all about money. marcos torres union president 5;45:12 what needs to change are the situations that continue to create unsafe situations for the students who transport if a strike happens, the district says it won’t allow athletic teams to travel by other means to away games. 6:30:14 ernest we’ll have to let them know that our teams traveling that day are not traveling, most likely forfeit the contest and then i’ve got to notify all the school we are going to visit to make sure they understand we’re not coming the district says liability concerns factor in its policy against allowing parents to drive student athletes to games. they also say renting out charter buses is out of the question. 6:31;51 ernest viramontes lcps athletic director we got to look at it as the whole district picture not just athletics and are you going to be able to get charters for everything? viramontes says it’s difficult to reschedule with out of town teams. in the mean time, coaches and players are paying close attention. 6:40;19 we just keep doing what we keep doing, playing hard sts tells us negotiations may last at least