After driving the roads this morning, Newmarket parent Heather Pollock opted to keep her son home from Huron Heights Secondary School.
“Under the plowed roads was ice, and people were walking on the road,” she said. “I just figured, you know what, buses should have been cancelled.”
Local parents have reacted negatively to the snow day decisions of York Region school boards over the past couple of days. Some residents questioned boards closing schools and buses on Thursday, Feb. 17, in anticipation of early afternoon snow and ice.
Similarly, there was social media backlash today to local school boards opting to keep things open after an overnight snowfall. Parents reported hundreds of bus delays on the tracking website today.
Pollock said those decisions are not easy to make. She said she can leave her teenage kid home alone while she is working, but parents with younger children are challenged more by snow days.
“The boards (are) damned if they do, damned if they don’t,” Pollock said, adding she would like to see snow day decisions made based on geography. “They can’t please everybody, and York Region is way too big."
York Catholic District School Board said inclement weather decisions are not made lightly. They noted due to the pandemic, schools are remaining closed across York Region when buses are cancelled.
"Decisions are made on the best information and advice available at the time from municipal road maintenance crews and weather monitoring authorities," the board said.
The board added it consults with safety officers from bus companies and review weather information from Environment Canada before deciding by 6 a.m.
NewmarketToday did not receive a reply from York Region District School Board before publication deadline.
Meanwhile, neighbouring jurisdictions decided differently. The Simcoe County District School Board kept three of its four zones open Feb. 17, but closed all four today, Feb. 18.
Durham District School Board closed buses in all four of its zones today, but kept schools open. They also cancelled buses in three zones Feb. 17, with high school students switching to virtual learning in affected areas.
A York Region school bus driver, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of professional consequences, said school driveways and paths were not plowed and ready in the morning and should have stayed closed.
She said she gave herself enough extra time to get to school after clearing snow from her wheelchair-accessible bus, but had to wait an additional 25 minutes upon arrival for plowing before she could let kids off.
“The schools were not ready for buses to be coming in,” she said. “Nothing prepared for anyone to be showing up.”
However, she agreed with the decision to close schools Feb. 17 in consideration of freezing rain, adding southern parts of the region had been forecasted to get more than Newmarket.
She said bus zones like neighbouring school boards could be great, but the problem is students in York Region go to different schools based on unique programs offered.
“The reality is they have students that crisscross all over the place too much,” she said.
Newmarket crossing guard Julie Lennick said she also agreed with the boards’ decision yesterday, but not today. She said she had to stand on the road due to unplowed sidewalks and high snow piles on the curbs, and it was challenging for kids walking to school.
“Very difficult to manoeuvre,” she said. “I think many parents just stayed home with their kids today. I saw a lot less traffic than usual.”
Pollock said with everything happening in the world, she was OK giving her son a day off for a mental health benefit. While some parents are upset, Pollock said she hoped they could stay kind.
“I just wish people would be kind to each other. Everybody seems to be so negative, and complaining and finding fault with absolutely everything,” she said.