School's back on, but only a few buses running
Although P.E.I. schools will be back in session Thursday after being closed since Monday due to bad road conditions, buses won't be running in all areas.
Buses for Souris Regional School and the Colonel Gray Family of schools will operate as normal, while those for all other schools in the English Language School Board will not run. The French School Board says only Souris' École La Belle Cloche will have buses running.
Cynthia Fleet, English board superintendent, says there are still a lot of roads across P.E.I that aren't safe for buses.
But with 13 days of school lost, she says it's time to get schools open again and to call on parents to do the driving if they can.
"Parents have to make that judgment call tomorrow as drivers of an automobile," said Fleet.
Fleet says each school has come up with its own drop-off schedule for parents to ensure parking lots and roads don't become congested.
"Schools are approaching it in various forms. Some schools are doing drop-off by alphabetical order, some schools are doing staggered times. There may be some bumps tomorrow," she said.
Parents of children in the English board schools are asked to follow the alternate student transportation plan.
Teachers will support absent students
Parents are also asked to exercise caution when approaching school zones and to expect delays during drop-off and pick-up times. They are also asked to not leave their vehicle when dropping off students.
The drive was narrow at times, but Allana Mullally and her kids still made it from Kingston to the Charlottetown Mall this morning.
"We do understand that school buses can't safely get back and forth," said Mullaly.
"But I kind of agree with the fact that we should be able to transport our own children back and forth to school. If we're able to get out and about, there's no reason we can't drop them off."
Some parents say if all students can't make it to school, then no students should go.
"Just in the cities it's fine, but out in the country it's not. And it's not fair to give some kids more of an advantage than others," said Jennifer Robinson.
Fleet says if a student cannot attend school for reasons beyond their control, then teachers will support those students as best they can.
"It will be through phone, email, or when they return to school, they will pick up and help those students," she said.
Fleet says that beyond this year, the board may make more of an effort to open schools, even when buses can't get there.
The Transportation Department says it will likely be next week before all roads are wide enough for buses.
