Administrative Procedure: Severe Weather
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EFFECTIVE DATE:
February 11, 2004
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ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE CODE:
7.A.20
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AMENDED DATE:
February 12, 2019
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Policy Reference
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Legal Reference
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Student safety has highest priority with Border Land School Division. With respect to transported students, the Division, under the provisions of the PSA and supporting regulations, is responsible for student safety from the time that students board the bus in the morning and are delivered back to their designated stop after school. In the event that bus transportation is deemed unsafe due to weather conditions, policy will determine the process for the cancellation of bus service and related school closures.
With respect to severe weather, the Division is divided into three regions. The Transportation Coordinator, in consultation with senior divisional administration, may cancel bus transportation in one, two, or all three regions.
The regions are delimited as follows:
Western: from Dominion City to Altona, including the Roseau Valley, Emerson, Blue Clay, Ridgeville, Glenway, Green Ridge, Gretna, Horizon, Elmwood, West Park, Parkside, W. C. Miller, and Rosenfeld Schools.
Central: encompasses the Vita area. This includes Shevchenko School.
Eastern: encompasses the Piney and Sprague areas. This includes the Pineland and Ross L Gray Schools.
In any unforeseen circumstances, the Transportation Coordinator, together with senior divisional administration, has the authority to decide whether or not there is a full or partial cancellation of bus service.
Severe weather for the purpose of this procedure is classified into two categories.
Wind Chill Days
School bus service will be cancelled if the wind chill factor is in excess of –45° C. When the wind chill factor is between –40° C and –45° C, the Transportation Coordinator will consider existing road and local weather conditions to determine the advisability of school bus service.
On wind chill days, although bus service may be cancelled, schools are considered to be open and generally all staff will report for work as usual. Students are not expected to attend unless special circumstances exist (i.e. Hutterian schools).
Staff Expectations for Wind Chill Days
- All staff are in attendance at work.
Storm Days
Storm days occur when weather conditions, warnings, or reports of impending weather conditions create visibility and/or road conditions that make travel unsafe or impossible. On storm days, schools are considered closed.
Staff Expectations for Storm Days
- Professional staff attendance is discretionary, but a professional staff member must be designated to meet any students who come to school
- 10 month employees – secretaries, educational assistants, and librarians do not report to work and will not be paid for the first two storm days in the school year. Employees are permitted to use a personal leave day to receive payment for the day. Beginning on the third storm day of the year, these employees are not expected to report but will be paid.
- 12 month employees may access leave days if they are unable to report to work.
The school Principal/Head Custodian are responsible for the safety and security of the building on all weather related closure days.
Parent/Guardian Responsibility
Parents have the fullest knowledge of actual and probable road and weather conditions in their area. They are obliged to exercise discretion in permitting their children to ride the bus when the weather conditions are, or are expected to become, dangerously inclement. Parents shall call the school if their children will not be attending.
Parents are also responsible for naming possible local billets if the buses are unable to run after school.
Severe Weather
The Transportation Coordinator or his/her designate will check existing weather conditions and consult with senior divisional administration and designated bus drivers to determine the advisability of running the school buses.
In the AM
If weather conditions are such that bus service is deemed inadvisable, the Transportation Coordinator will make the decision between 6:30 and 7:00 AM. A decision not to run buses will mean that students will not be in attendance for that day in the affected region.
The Transportation Coordinator will
1. Post the announcement on the following radio stations:
CAN AM 105.1 FM
CFAM 950 AM
CJOB 680 AM
CBC 990 AM
KG102 FM (ROSEAU, MINNESOTA)
KQ92 FM (WARROAD, MINNESOTA)
2. Notify the principals so that appropriate information is available for parents and
staff.
3. Notify the bus drivers, who will in turn call all of the parents on their route.
In order to facilitate this process, the Transportation Coordinator shall keep a list of bus drivers, custodians, divisional administration, and other contacts with their phone numbers. This list shall be updated as necessary and checked annually.
In the PM
For the afternoon regular dismissal:
Buses will either leave at their regularly scheduled time, or not at all. In order to ensure safety of transported students, it is recommended that buses do not leave the school at other than regularly scheduled times.
If the weather has deteriorated significantly over the day, the buses will not run. This decision will be made at 2:00 PM so that schools have ample time to notify parents and/or to arrange appropriate billets.