Bus and school cancellations in Waterloo Region and surrounding areas on Wednesday left many parents scrambling and some with lingering questions.
While the area started the day under a special weather statement for freezing rain, the potential ice storm was milder than many were expecting.
“Waking up this morning, there is very little ice, mostly rain,” said parent Emily Ahrens. “We would’ve made it to school and would’ve been OK.”
Pre-pandemic school board protocol would have likely seen buses cancelled while schools stayed open – the pandemic changed that. Now, Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) says even though many pandemic policies have been dropped, they still do not have the staff at schools to keep them open on days where buses are cancelled.
That means extra work for some parents.
“They could’ve been at school, even just playing indoors,” said mother Sharon Daniel.
“It’s hard when parents are still working from home, for us to try to take care of children and do our jobs.”
WRDSB, Waterloo Catholic District School Board, Upper Grand District School Board and the Wellington Catholic District School Board all closed schools on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for WRDSB said it recognizes how the decision impacts parents.
“We understand and it’s hard to find a solution that works for everyone on days like this,” Eusis Dougan-McKenzie with WRDSB said.
The board said currently, there isn’t another option.
“Unfortunately we’re not able to adjust our availability for staffing that rapidly,” Dougan-McKenzie said. “And the staffing that we had right before March break is the same that we have currently so we can’t really accommodate things as quickly as families want or need.”
Dougan-McKenzie said the policy is temporary measure that could change and will be re-evaluated for next year.
