LAKELAND - During the winter months, extremely cold temperatures and inclement weather conditions occasionally prompt the cancellation of buses within Northern Lights Public Schools (NLPS).
On Jan. 17, due to weather conditions, all NLPS buses were cancelled. As stated in information from the school division, despite buses being kept off the roads, schools were still open on that day, with regular classes proceeding.
NLPS confirmed that programming may be modified if large numbers of students are absent on inclement weather days.
According to Nicole Garner, the school division’s communications and public relations manager, when buses are cancelled, attendance can vary greatly from school to school.
“At some schools, particularly in our rural areas, the majority of students are bused to school and so their attendance is generally lower on school days,” Garner tells Lakeland This Week.
At other schools, she explained, attendance is less impacted as there are students who walk or parents who regularly drive their children to school. Some parents of students who would normally take the bus will drive them to school when buses are cancelled - providing that it is safe to do so.
“Ultimately it is up the parents to determine whether or not to send their children to school on those days.”
Garner states that many parents use the School Messenger app to report absences. People can log in, click on attendance, choose the child that is absent and the reason for the absence, and then submit to NLPS. Once this happens, that information is shared with the child’s school.
“For families with multiple children, sometimes in multiple schools, this can be easier than calling multiple schools to report an absence.”
Guidelines, including thresholds for cancelling buses and/or classes are contained within the NLPS Administrative Procedure 131. This school division policy pertains to inclement weather disruptions to transportation and classroom schedules.
As explained by NLPS, the procedures regarding decisions for busing and class cancellations take into consideration factors such as road conditions, outside temperatures, wind chill, blowing snow, fog, RCMP travel advisories, and weather warnings issued by Environment Canada.
Matt Richter, the NLPS director of transportation, addressed the school division’s board of trustees during the most recent meeting in Bonnyville on Jan. 15.
Richter reported that for the 2023-24 school year, NLPS had three days when there were cancelled buses either across the whole division or in one region due to extreme temperatures, along with one day in March because of inclement weather.
Other than weather, individual routes can be cancelled on any day for reasons such as if a bus driver is ill, or there is a mechanical issue with a bus, says Garner.
