LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
Updated Jan. 8, 11:56 a.m.
School districts operating inside of Paris, including District 95, Paris Cooperative High School and Crestwood (CUSD 4), will be returning to a regular class schedule Wednesday, Jan. 8, after a bonus day of winter break thanks to Winter Storm Blair.
Students riding the bus to District 95 schools, including Mayo Middle School, Carolyn Wenz Elementary and Memorial Elementary can expect rides to proceed as normal before and after school and following after-school programming per MSB Transportation President Michelle Bell.
Crestwood students should expect some changes. All Crestwood School buses will run snow routes on Wednesday, Jan. 8, Thursday, Jan. 9 and Friday, Jan. 10.
Snow routes, also known as mud routes, include special locations designated for pick-up and drop-off that are different from routine stops.
“Crestwood School buses run regular routes whenever possible, but it is the practice of the district to implement snow routes when necessary,” a public release of information from Crestwood explained on Jan. 7. “The decision to run snow routes is made with input from several sources and depends upon current road conditions, the temperature and the weather forecast. Foremost is the safe transportation of all children.”
Snow routes have been designated to incur minimal turnaround, according to Crestwood Superintendent Danette Young.
“Your child’s bus driver will be calling you (on Jan. 7) to let you know where your child will be picked up and dropped off. A child must ride in the morning to be able to ride the bus back home the same day,” Young told Prairie Press staff. “If you have any questions, please contact your child’s bus driver or call the bus garage … there will be no after-school program bus service.”
Additional information and arrangements for CUSD 4 students can be made by contacting the bus garage at 217-466-0255.
Large vehicles like school buses need two to three times the space a regular vehicle needs to turn around. Snow and mud routes are intended to keep buses moving forward, avoid slick spots on hills and avoid backing up.
“When snow is piled at intersections, there is not enough clearance for buses without hitting snow piles and a loss of visibility. While the main roads are clear, many secondary roads are snow-packed and only have one lane clear. With frigid temperatures, there are also clusters of ice,” Crestwood’s press release explained.
The Prairie Press has reached out to schools in Hume, Kansas and Chrisman for comment on snow routes and plans to return students but has not received any additional information.