Fewer classes cancelled as a result of mild winter

Final call to cancel school rests with individual boards

The days for making snow forts were few and far between for students in Cape Breton this winter.

In the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board, there were only six full days and a half day cancelled due to inclement weather, while an additional five days were cancelled North of Smokey.

“Compared to last year that is quite a bit lower,” said Tara Gaskell, the board’s manager of transportation. “Last year there were 15 days in which classes were cancelled for all students in the board and there was one additional day for North of Smokey.”

Administrators do not necessarily plan for a certain number of storm days, said Gaskell, although the board’s expectations are set by the previous year’s weather and cancellation patterns.

As part of the cancellation decision-making processes, Gaskell said provincial counterparts are consulted, in addition to a private weather forecasting service. Calls are also made to rural contacts and the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal to piece together information on road clearing and other safety measures.

But while the final call to cancel school rests with individual boards, their decisions are not always widely accepted by parents. That was the case last Thursday when a cancellation was made despite a morning of clear weather. Gaskell said although a bit delayed, Thursday afternoon’s mix of snow and rain made for unsafe driving conditions.

“This past storm started a little later than we initially thought it was going to,” she said. “Then they changed the forecast right around 5 a.m. but it was hitting right at our peak travel time, so anywhere from 1:30 p.m. on we have quite a few buses on the road. We want all the buses off before the roads really start to deteriorate.”

Gaskell said the school board also considers holding classes up for a half day if buses are available to transport students home in a safe manner before the bad weather hits.

In the Strait region, board spokesperson Deanna Gillis said winter weather cancelled only six full days of school and resulted in three early dismissals this year for area students. By comparison, there were 10 full-time days and a half-day cancelled for 2016-17 as a result of storms.