Dozens of local schools were delayed Wednesday because of below zero wind chill temperatures.
“We have to use common sense. We can't delay school every day because of wind chill,” Richland School District superintendent Arnold Nadonley said. “However, the first few times we do it to get the parents on notice that, ‘hey it's time to make sure your kids are appropriately dressed and taken care of.’”
Among the schools Richland and Central Cambria school districts each operated on a two-hour delay.
Central Cambria School District superintendent Jason Moore said, “We try to do the delays sparingly but it's one of those things where you're always going to err on the side of caution.”
They said students waiting for the bus is one worry.
“Especially the younger kids. We want to make that they're safe,” Nadonley said. “The buses are not always going to arrive on time. It could be delayed just because of weather conditions and the road conditions, so being out there can be dangerous.”
But the bus itself also factors into the decision. School officials said especially diesel buses need time to warm up and get an anti-gel into the system so that the diesel fuel does not thicken, which could potentially cause the bus to break down.
“That bus is going to drop temperature very, very quickly,” Moore said. “We have spare buses, however by the time the bus might get there the temperature is going to drop on that bus and we just don't want to put kids in those situations.”
Superintendents said they want to send another message to parents about the importance of kids being dressed for the weather.
“If we have to evacuate the building for some reason, these kids could be outside for a prolonged period of time,” Nadonley said.
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