Will schools open tomorrow? Decision coming after 4 p.m., minister says
CBC
One of the most-asked questions in the province will soon be answered: Will schools finally open across the metro St. John's region on Thursday?
Education Minister Paul Dinn said there will be a decision announced between 4 and 5 p.m. NT on Wednesday.
Schools on the northeast Avalon have been shuttered for a week, as the region digs out from more than 100 cm of snow from a pair of major storms.
"I also want to thank the parents for their patience in this," Dinn told reporters Wednesday afternoon. "I know it's becoming a bit frustrating for them."
Dinn said the province's school board is working with school bus operators and the provincial Department of Transportation to assess the situation and determine when it's safe to send kids back to class.
"Hopefully we could open tomorrow, but again that decision will be made later today," he said.
Dinn said some streets are still too small for a school bus to pass. He said they'll have a better understanding of the situation later in the afternoon.
"We've talked to our bus contractors and they gave us some advice yesterday," he said. "A lot of these access roads, the roads that are off the main drag, are just not big enough for a bus to safely traverse and even turn around. It's a safety issue, and I can't stress that enough."
The minister said he agreed with the decisions by each municipality to not call a state of emergency, saying it was a different situation than the massive storm known as Snowmageddon in 2020, which resulted in a weeklong state of emergency.
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