Too cold for school? Districts across Kansas face winter weather dilemma

SALINA, Kan. (KWCH)—School districts across Kansas responded differently to winter conditions on Tuesday morning, which brought subzero temperatures and dangerous windchills. With the air temperature and windchill being the biggest concerns, the question for districts was whether buses could get running and if students would be safe to wait on the buses.

The Salina school district held school on Tuesday after ensuring that buses were running. The district encouraged parents to bundle their children in layers, but excused absences for students who stayed home due to the weather.

“Ultimately, our parents and guardians have the option to keep their children home when they have concerns about getting to school safely in the bitter cold. At Salina Public Schools, the absence is excused by reporting it in keeping with regular reporting procedures at the child’s school,” the district said.

In Western Kansas, the Garden City school district canceled classes on Tuesday because the cold weather was too much for their buses. The district issued a statement saying, “Diesel fuel began to gel due to the temperature. This was creating an issue of getting the buses started and running correctly.

In the Wichita area, responses varied based on bus availability and the time that students had to spend outside. The Wichita school district canceled classes on Tuesday, as did several surrounding districts including Maize, Valley Center, Goddard and Haysville.

Several districts throughout Kansas, including McPherson, opted to start two hours late on Tuesday.

With cold weather and how school districts respond, Salina parent Terry Hill said that ultimately as parents, it’s important to remember one thing.

“I’m sure the school district makes their decisions based [on] many, many, many different criteria, weather being one of them,” he said. “It all comes down to if you feel that loss of a school day is that important.”

Hill said Salina Public Schools made the right call on Tuesday by leaving the decision as to whether or not students attended up to their parents.

“Giving us parents the option is good because it allows us to make a decision on if we want to subject our children to it or not,” he said. “if they feel like it’s safe enough to get buses out and get kids to and from school then I’m sure they’re making the right decision on that.”

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