I-S school staff respond to snowstorm
The Iola-Scandinavia School District was hit hard by the Nov. 9 snowstorm. Because of the poor road conditions, many students arrived home late.
The worst incident occurred when one of the school district's vehicles was hit by a utility pole while it was transporting special needs students from Waupaca. The pole smashed the windshield on the driver's side and the vehicle needed to be towed back to the bus garage.
"Last Wednesday was the worst day for transporting students that I can recall," District Administrator Joe Price told the I-S School Board at its Nov. 14 meeting. "We had buses unable to move because of downed trees and power lines. There were children who didn't get home until 6 p.m. and there were a lot of worried parents."
"I read that when you go through bad times you should at least learn something from them," he said. "So what did we learn from our bad weather experience? For me it was mostly relearning some things."
One thing Price learned was that the district has courageous drivers.
"Our drivers knowingly accept an awesome responsibility every day - to bring children safely to school and back home again," he stated. "On a day like Wednesday, that becomes a real challenge. Our drivers demonstrated the skill and determination needed to get everyone home safely."
Price also learned that the school staff is dedicated. He noted that elementary secretary Laura Meagher, who is scheduled to work until 4 p.m., returned to the school when she realized the buses were having trouble getting through their routes. She stayed in the office until 6 p.m. to coordinate messages between the bus drivers and the worried parents.
Transportation Director John Shepard was back at the bus garage by 4 p.m. to offer support to the other bus drivers. He slept on a bus Wednesday night and was out driving the back roads by 5 a.m. Thursday morning to see if there were any lingering problems.
Business Manager Jon Novak and Buildings & Grounds Director Larry Fechter used chainsaws to clear away fallen branches so a bus could complete a route on Wednesday evening.
The worst incident occurred when one of the school district's vehicles was hit by a utility pole while it was transporting special needs students from Waupaca. The pole smashed the windshield on the driver's side and the vehicle needed to be towed back to the bus garage.
"Last Wednesday was the worst day for transporting students that I can recall," District Administrator Joe Price told the I-S School Board at its Nov. 14 meeting. "We had buses unable to move because of downed trees and power lines. There were children who didn't get home until 6 p.m. and there were a lot of worried parents."
"I read that when you go through bad times you should at least learn something from them," he said. "So what did we learn from our bad weather experience? For me it was mostly relearning some things."
One thing Price learned was that the district has courageous drivers.
"Our drivers knowingly accept an awesome responsibility every day - to bring children safely to school and back home again," he stated. "On a day like Wednesday, that becomes a real challenge. Our drivers demonstrated the skill and determination needed to get everyone home safely."
Price also learned that the school staff is dedicated. He noted that elementary secretary Laura Meagher, who is scheduled to work until 4 p.m., returned to the school when she realized the buses were having trouble getting through their routes. She stayed in the office until 6 p.m. to coordinate messages between the bus drivers and the worried parents.
Transportation Director John Shepard was back at the bus garage by 4 p.m. to offer support to the other bus drivers. He slept on a bus Wednesday night and was out driving the back roads by 5 a.m. Thursday morning to see if there were any lingering problems.
Business Manager Jon Novak and Buildings & Grounds Director Larry Fechter used chainsaws to clear away fallen branches so a bus could complete a route on Wednesday evening.
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1 Comment for "I-S school staff respond to snowstorm
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IolaScandy4 Dec 07, 2011 9:28 AM