(WHTM) — A school bus picks up students at 10 a.m., and the official temperature is 12 degrees. Usually, it arrives at 8 a.m. when it is 7 degrees. Two hours later — five degrees warmer — some parents wonder what gives?
“I’ve seen social media commentary from some parents regarding that,” said Brandon Long, spokesperson for the West Shore School District.
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As Pennsylvania sits in a deep freeze, two-hour delays continue across the Commonwealth. Parents, in turn, rearrange their schedules for the foreseeable future because it’s cold, which happens a lot in the winter here.
“A two-hour delay allows buses to make sure that they’re running properly, that they get started properly in the cold,” Long said. “Daylight helps everything. Drivers are able to see the kids easier over the snow. The kids are able to be warmed up just a little more by that, too.”
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Carrie Rowe, the state education secretary, often had to make the call to cancel or delay school while she was a superintendent in Beaver.
“It’s one of the most difficult decisions that we have,” she said. “We always center it on student safety first. There’s no surprise in that.”
Some parents complain her district didn’t make the decision soon enough, she said. Other times, she made the call too early, and the weather the next day wasn’t something she would’ve canceled for.
Post-COVID, the state gives schools five flexible instruction days, which allow students to learn from home. Some parents would prefer zero.
“I’ve heard people say, ‘Well, back in my day, we would go to school when it was this cold, and we would put plastic bags over our shoes so that our shoes would stay dry,’” Rowe said.
The state gives schools a lot of local control and delayed school days count as full days. The state’s 500 school districts still must have either 180 days in school or 990 hours of instruction.
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Rowe said superintendents always focus on student safety. But if parents are upset, she reminded they have local control.
“I would say to those individuals, talk to your school board,” Rowe said. “These are the individuals who you’ve elected to represent your specific interests.”
Rowe also noted that conditions in certain school districts may affect whether classes are delayed. While the conditions on one street may be fine, others in the district may be more remote and less safe in wintry conditions.
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