Buses cancelled but schools remain open

Bus routes in Elgin County were cancelled Wednesday morning, Feb. 23, due to freezing rain but schools remain open.

At a Thames Valley District School Board meeting Tuesday night, Feb. 22, Elgin-St. Thomas Trustee Meagan Ruddock said she was sure other trustees had also received many emails from parents who were upset and frustrated by a new policy that closed all schools if buses were cancelled.

She was happy to see that policy had been reviewed and revised.

Associate Director Riley Culhane said that the Ontario Ministry of Education and public health units had recently revised rules for how many children could be in a school room at once.

As a result, the board had been able to return to its previous practice of keeping schools open, even when buses were cancelled.

With the changed rules, up to 50 children could again be in a room at once, allowing classes to be consolidated in case some teachers couldn’t get in to work because of inclement weather, he said. As a result, the temporary policy about closing schools if buses were cancelled had been lifted.