Winter Weather Update - January 28, 2026

The recent winter storm brought colder temperatures and more snowfall than we typically experience, and these conditions may continue to impact school operations in the weeks ahead. With the cold weather, our team has been working carefully and intentionally to prepare for school days and ensure student safety. This was our plan for today and will continue to be our plan in the coming days. Our buildings and grounds teams cleared driveways, parking lots, and sidewalks, our buildings were warm and ready, and our buses were prepared hours in advance to ensure they were fully operational and warm for staff and students.

While we were prepared to open school safely, we continue to face tight staffing margins within our transportation department. Although the majority of our drivers were able to report this morning, we were unable to accommodate some last-minute absences. When there are multiple absences in one day, routes must be delayed or even cancelled. Faced with Wednesday morning's extremely cold temperatures, we felt it was safest to avoid the possibility of students waiting at bus stops longer than expected. This decision was made out of an abundance of caution, with student safety as our top priority. We apologize for the late notice regarding today's school cancellation; we truly appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate these challenging circumstances together.

As we look forward, we want to be transparent about our current staffing levels. Due to a limited number of substitute bus drivers, we may be required to temporarily cancel specific routes if we are unable to fill all vacancies. We will communicate directly with parents through the MyRideK12 app if your child’s route is impacted. Please note that if the district is forced to cancel your child’s transportation, any resulting tardy or absence will not be counted against them for that day.

To ensure student safety during these cold and snowy conditions, we ask that you review the following reminders with your children:

• Dress for the Conditions: Please ensure students dress in multiple layers and cover all exposed skin (hats, gloves, and scarves) to protect against the cold.

• Bus Stop Timing: Do not arrive at the bus stop too early. We want to avoid students waiting outside any longer than necessary. If you are going to drive your child to the bus stop, please park in a safe location that will permit the bus driver to see students waiting on sidewalks. Please ensure all students have loaded the bus and the flashing lights are turned off before pulling away. 

• Safe Standing Areas: Find a safe spot to stand that is off the road but close to your designated safety spot. If snow piles are blocking the path from the sidewalk to the street, please use the closest cleared driveway.

• Boarding the Bus: For safety and visibility, wait for the bus to come to a complete stop and for the driver to wave the student toward the bus before stepping into the road.

• LHS Student Drivers: High school students should use extra caution at LHS. Driveways and parking lot lanes may be condensed due to snow piles, which will limit visibility and space for some time.

If weather conditions create a specific concern for your family, please communicate directly with your child’s school. We value your partnership and will continue to provide updates as early as possible should conditions change.

Finally, we would like to extend our sincere thanks to our mechanics, custodians, maintenance workers, bus drivers, and other support staff who worked tirelessly over the last three days to prepare our buildings and buses for the safe return to school. Their behind-the-scenes efforts in extremely cold conditions made it possible for our facilities and bus fleet to be ready. We also want to recognize our bus drivers who reported to work this morning and were fully prepared to ensure our students were transported safely. We are deeply grateful for their dedication, flexibility, and commitment to serving our students and families.