I have no problem with my child going to school in bad weather....
I DO have a problem with my child being on a school bus in dangerous road conditions..
This is one of the reasons we did not have school yesterday.... most of the roads still had layers of ice that had not been cleared, especially up in the hills... and the school parking lots and driveways could not be de-iced safely....

This morning they announced a 2 hour delay. All fair and good so far... check the road conditions and make a final decision. I can live with this....
HOWEVER, up in the hills and in some of the outer areas (like my farm lane) the roads are still in horrible shape. Milk trucks are still crawling on my lane and driving it more than a bit hazardous if you don't watch out.

The Transportation Dept. decided that the roads (according to the County Roads Dept) were in good shape. DESPITE getting reports from school bus drivers who live up on those roads that they were still in dangerous icy conditions.
Now, I am not saying that County Roads was lying. I might suggest that they did not check all the roads they were supposed to. There is also a big difference between being out and checking the roads in a big heavy Country Roads truck and driving that same road in a long and much lighter school bus full of kids as far as safety is concerned.. At least two school bus drivers I know told me that roads they have to go downhill on are still covered with hard ice for long patches. Do you want you kids on a school bus under those conditions.... even with a highly skilled driver (which these two individuals are). I know I would not...

So basically, my complaint is.... why does the BOE Transportation Dept. not listen to their drivers when they call to tell them about dangerous conditions.
Yesterday they did not announce a 2 hour delay until very late and then did not decide to close the schools until it was almost time for me to take my child to the school bus.
At least I did not have to live through another stupidity message telling me that school is being closed the week before...

AMEN!!! Old Forge rd. still has spots that are icy!

Really, is one day of school worth the risk of lives? Imagine the lawsuits and disaster if there was an accident where people are hurt or killed. Not a smart move.

If the threat of an accident wins, we should therefore never venture out!! Put on your boots, put chains on the buses and get out there!

Yeah, because one more missed day of school is THAT important.

You obviously have never been behind the wheel of a school bus under icy conditions on some of our back roads.... even with chains a school bus is a not easy to control for the best of drivers, and believe me some of the drivers the board has are far from the best. Not only that but a lot of these roads have no run off spots if some other idiot decides to do something stupid and is coming at you...
I have been told by more than one driver about the number of idiots who refuse to obey the no-passing law for stopped school buses. These same idiots are not going to slow down for a bus if they are running late...

Yes, they need to go to school with some regularity...and be taught not to be wimps!

Maybe if just a very few roads are bad, too dangerous in the view of the driver, the kids on those roads should be excused from school that day. If it is very many roads like that, close schools altogether. In this day and age of communication there should be no excuse for the BOE not knowing which roads and how many are still dangerous, and county roads should be treating the heck out of those spots.