Many Eastern Iowa school districts delay classes by two hours

Many Corridor school districts delayed the start of classes by two hours Tuesday, and multiple have canceled school on Wednesday, after a winter storm that left several inches of snow on area roads and included air temperatures below zero.

Low temperatures on Wednesday morning could result in classes being delayed or canceled again because buses can't run below temperatures of -15 degrees. Temperatures are projected to drop to around -20 degrees Tuesday night, according to a KCRG-TV9 forecast.

Dennis Schreckengast, the Cedar Rapids Community School District's transportation manager, said temperatures that low make the buses' diesel fuel turn into gel.

'Diesel has an aspect where it turns into almost like a vasoline type substance,” Schreckengast said. 'They'll sit and idle OK here in the lot. The trouble of the gelling of the fuel is most likely when they get out on the road.”

As a result, Schreckengast said, he usually recommends to superintendent David Benson that the district cancel school in those situations.

'The last thing you want to have happen is try to get a fleet going and run into trouble midmorning,” he said. 'You're stranding hundreds of kids out at bus stops, and they may not have alternative homes to get back into.”

To help the buses and fuel stay warm, Schreckengast said he and drivers keep the bus engines' block heaters plugged in 24 hours a day when it gets this cold. They also use a winter blend of fuel that is less likely to turn to gel, he said.

In the College Community School District, concerns about keeping buses running can be compounded because many students live on rural roads. The district was one of several Tuesday to limit bussing to routes with hard surfaces - meaning families who live on gravel roads would have to bring their students to a designated spot on a paved road, as far as two miles away.

'It is definitely an inconvenience, but it definitely is not safe for our buses to go down those roads,” said Steve Doser, a spokesman for the district.

Districts also must keep a close eye on school heating systems and consider the students who walk to school and are even more exposed to frigid temperatures. Schreckengast said about 2,000 students walk to school in the Cedar Rapids district.

Katie Mulholland, the superintendent of the Linn-Mar Community School District, said the district likely would cancel school only if low temperatures were forecast all day Wednesday.

'If it's really cold, and they can't give us a consistent forecast for the whole day, we might do a two-hour delay just so the buses are running and it's daylight,” she said.

Benson said last month that he consults with city and public safety officials before deciding whether to delay or cancel school.

'We make the best decision possible based on input throughout the metro area,” Benson said.

Cedar Rapids schools will have to make up the two hours lost this morning because of the delay, a spokeswoman for the district said. Officials at most other districts said they would not have to add any time on to the end of the school year, because they had built additional hours into account for possible cancellations.

The Iowa City Community School District, which also delayed classes by two hours Tuesday, experienced a glitch Tuesday morning with its notification system that resulted in calls to parents being delayed by about 45 minutes, a school spokesman said.

Iowa City superintendent Stephen Murley said transportation is a primary concern for the district when cold temperatures arrive.

'Safety concerns are about the beginning or the end (of the day),” Murley said, referring to students who walk to school or wait at bus stops.

'Certainly on a day like Wednesday,” he said, 'that becomes problematic for having school.”