The wheels on the bus weren’t going round and round for students across the Northern Lights school division last Thursday and Friday.
Dangerously cold weather on both days forced Northern Lights Public Schools (NLPS) officials to follow division policy and cancel all buses across the Lakeland region.
Nicole Garner, the communications manager at NLPS, said the criteria for cancelling buses due to inclement weather is laid out in their Administrative Procedures documents. She said the temperature threshold for buses being cancelled is either an air temperature of -40C or an air temperature of -30C with a windchill of -40C.
While the buses were cancelled, schools across the region remained open, although classes were modified due to the big drop in students. At Aurora Middle School in Lac La Biche, a Grade 4-8 school of about 400 students, only 60 were in the school on Friday.
On average, Garner continued, division-wide bus cancellations are rare and occur only a couple of times a year. Cancellations also vary by region. According to Garner, there have been years when in one community, buses were only cancelled once while other communities may have had buses cancelled three or four times due to inclement weather.
“We have had instances where buses have been cancelled in Lac La Biche and Cold Lake but not in Bonnyville or vice versa,” she explained.
Garner said the primary concern in the cold weather policy is the safety of the students. She said when temperatures are colder, it increases the risk associated with something unexpected occurring. One example would be if a bus were to break down or be involved in a collision.
“When it is extremely cold, it increases the risk that the driver and passengers could be impacted by the cold while they are waiting for assistance,” she said, adding that another concern is students waiting to be picked up at bus stops who may not be dressed appropriately for cold temperatures.
Trustees with NLPS changed the threshold for cancellations a few years ago, partially in response to feedback from drivers and contractors who reported that newer buses seemed to be less tolerant of cold weather than older buses. She added that they were noticing more mechanical failures and greater difficulty starting newer buses in extremely chilly weather.
Well-prepared
She said the NLPS transportation department is continually monitoring weather conditions and is in contact with drivers and contractors to assess what is happening locally in the various communities served by the school division.
“We even have some drivers who wake up early and will drive their route or part of their route ahead of time to assess local road conditions and report any concerns to our transportation director,” Garner said. “Usually, the decision to cancel is made around 6 a.m. and then communicated to parents through our Bus Status app and on our website.”
In some cases, bus drivers also make phone calls directly to the houses on their routes to alert families.
Since cancellations can be made at any time, Garner says, it’s imperative for parents to check the website and Bus Status app so they have the most up-to-date information.
Learning continues
For students not able to attend classes due to the weather conditions or bus cancellations, technology has helped to keep them connected.
“Some teachers do post assignments in Google Classroom so that students who are unable to come to school can complete work at home, but not all of our students have access to a computer or device or the internet at home,” she explained.
Northern Lights does have a separate policy for cancelling classes, which is different from cancelling buses. According to Garner, the threshold for cancelling classes is an air temperature of -40C or a windchill of -45C. In that case, schools remain open, but regular classes do not go ahead.
“Today, buses were cancelled, but classes were not cancelled,” she said last Thursday. “Class cancellations occur less frequently than bus cancellations. There are some years when we don't have any.”
More cold rolling in
Residents across the Lakeland are expected to endure a few more days of extreme cold weather. Environment Canada’s seven-day forecast for northeastern Alberta from Jan. 12 to 19 shows a a slight warming trend from daily highs in the low minus 30s to start the week to highs in the low minus 20s at the end of the week.
A province-wide Extreme Cold weather warning was in place from Environment Canada throughout all of last weekend, with the coldest temperature hitting –45C early Saturday morning.
