Waterloo schools will again open when weather forces bus cancellations

The Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) says it is changing how it will handle snow days in the future with schools now being open in the event buses are cancelled.

“Effective immediately, if buses are canceled due to severe weather, schools will remain open unless it is unsafe to keep them open,” the board said in a release issued Tuesday night.

The board said the decision to adjust snow days was made alongside the Waterloo Catholic District School Board as well as Student Transportation Services of Waterloo Region.

While there will be changes to the system, if buses are cancelled, updates will be posted to the WRDSB website, school websites and WRDSB social media channels by 6 a.m.

The board says there will be five possible scenarios enacted when inclement weather strikes the region.

In the first situation, when nasty weather forces the cancellation of all forms of transportation, schools will remain open, as do daycares and before and after care programs.

Situation 2 would see transportation cancelled in the rural townships of Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich while the rest of the region remains unaffected. Schools would remain open in the townships, while daycares and before and after care programs would remain open.

Situation 3 would be the same as Situation 2 except that the bus routes in North Dumfries would also be cancelled.

If Situation 4 is enacted, transportation is cancelled and schools are closed, including child-care centres. In this case, board offices would also close and all evening rental permits would also be cancelled. In this scenario, all students would shift to remote learning for the day.

The final situation is essentially the same as the first but it would be caused by extreme cold conditions.