At what early morning tempature should they cancel school in the Twin Cities area? (schools, retired)

[RC01]

The other day my bus was 34 minutes late. I was at a covered bus stop, and I was still frozen when it finally arrived. To have kids wait outside in uncovered bus stops with wind chills below -35 for a long period of time is just STUPID. Not everyone has the luxury of being able to drive their kids to school.

[Glenfield]

Originally Posted by RC01

The other day my bus was 34 minutes late. I was at a covered bus stop, and I was still frozen when it finally arrived. To have kids wait outside in uncovered bus stops with wind chills below -35 for a long period of time is just STUPID. Not everyone has the luxury of being able to drive their kids to school.

You were taking a school bus? Because if you were taking a public bus, it's a different situation. All school bus systems have backup buses ready to fill in on routes if there is a problem. Metro Transit and the suburban bus systems don't have backups idling ready to fill in.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Glenfield

You were taking a school bus? Because if you were taking a public bus, it's a different situation. All school bus systems have backup buses ready to fill in on routes if there is a problem. Metro Transit and the suburban bus systems don't have backups idling ready to fill in.

Even the school officials said this isn't true. They may have back up buses but who is there to drive them...and to go get the bus, run the route adds time. I guess it's ok for everyone else's kids to freeze to death but your kids....

Every expert out there said it was NOT a good idea to have school on those days, but I guess you know better. The decision isn't taken lightly and the school officials, bus company officials and local weather experts all consult on these decisions....but I guess they didn't call you because you would have just told them to car pool with their 1st graders that drive...

[HomePort]

Delayed starts dont help much for cold days. Have you seen how they show the temp charts on TV the night before ? The coldest temps are at about 6 AM and stay that way with little change even up to 9 or 10AM.

How about this for as a good common ground for this issue - Schools declare that buses wont run (that way the risk to children on bus stops is eliminated) and the children who stay home or are late that day will be excused - meaning no attendance penalty. That way people who think its best to keep their kids at home can do so and people who want to drop their kids at school can do that as well. Not a perfect solution but like I said could be a "middle ground".

[Glenfield]

Originally Posted by golfgal

Even the school officials said this isn't true. They may have back up buses but who is there to drive them...and to go get the bus, run the route adds time. I guess it's ok for everyone else's kids to freeze to death but your kids....

Every expert out there said it was NOT a good idea to have school on those days, but I guess you know better. The decision isn't taken lightly and the school officials, bus company officials and local weather experts all consult on these decisions....but I guess they didn't call you because you would have just told them to car pool with their 1st graders that drive...

No need to get all huffy. We each have our own opinion and there's no need to run each other down. Let's try to keep it civil.

I know there are back up buses, at least in Minneapolis, because I talked to someone who drove one. His job was to sit at a specified location until they called to to fill in for another route. That's all he did. Maybe it's different in your area.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by HomePort

Delayed starts dont help much for cold days. Have you seen how they show the temp charts on TV the night before ? The coldest temps are at about 6 AM and stay that way with little change even up to 9 or 10AM.

How about this for as a good common ground for this issue - Schools declare that buses wont run (that way the risk to children on bus stops is eliminated) and the children who stay home or are late that day will be excused - meaning no attendance penalty. That way people who think its best to keep their kids at home can do so and people who want to drop their kids at school can do that as well. Not a perfect solution but like I said could be a "middle ground".

This often happens in the more rural areas but in most of the metro districts, high school kids that live within 2 miles of the school walk, elementary kids that can be between 6 blocks and a mile. Then add in families where the parents can't get them to school for one reason or another and it's just not a practical solution for cold weather days.

Like I said, they don't make these decisions lightly and they have to weight the pros and cons of being out of school. When school officials are driving around to make sure that kids aren't at bus stops because they didn't get the message, and yes, there were kids at the bus stops on these cold days that didn't get the message, it's a serious situation.

Then, look at the flip side--how would you feel if you were the superintendent of a school district and figured that people could just 'carpool' when it's -60 windchill and a child had to have hands or feet amputated or worse died because of the cold. I wouldn't want that on my shoulders.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Glenfield

No need to get all huffy. We each have our own opinion and there's no need to run each other down. Let's try to keep it civil.

I know there are back up buses, at least in Minneapolis, because I talked to someone who drove one. His job was to sit at a specified location until they called to to fill in for another route. That's all he did. Maybe it's different in your area.

So one person does this--and did he say how long it takes to get to that route..if that is longer than 5 minutes--guess what, your plan doesn't work when it's -60...but they can just carpool I guess because your kids are fine and forget the rest of the kids that don't have parents paying for private schools for them....

[Glenfield]

Originally Posted by golfgal

So one person does this--and did he say how long it takes to get to that route..if that is longer than 5 minutes--guess what, your plan doesn't work when it's -60...but they can just carpool I guess because your kids are fine and forget the rest of the kids that don't have parents paying for private schools for them....

I help pay for the public schools, too but I wondered how long before you tried some kind of class resentment angle. Whatever.

As usual, you know it all.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Glenfield

I help pay for the public schools, too but I wondered how long before you tried some kind of class resentment angle. Whatever.

As usual, you know it all.

Class resentment....no, just pointing out facts--most Minneapolis public schools are made up of kids from poor families or maybe middle class families that can't afford private schools..but in your mind they don't count and should just stand on a corner in -60 temps because you don't want your kids out of schools...

[wamer27]

The new/newer buses can't handle the cold. Bus companies are buying cheaper buses. My neighbor works for a major bus place in town and told me the one school that didn't cancel any days was Holy Angels because they own buses designed for Canadian schools. Another guy who owns a huge bus company in town told a friend of mine that the new buses just plain can't handle the cold like they used to.