Durham Region school boards defend decision to deny snow day, stay open
Schools remained open, but all bus routes are cancelled
Durham Region school boards are defending their decision to keep doors open and deny students a snow day.
Both the Catholic and district school boards say the decision was made in tandem with each other to best serve students and families.
In an interview with CBC News, Lisa Bianca, the associate director of corporate services with Durham District School Board (DDSB) said students will not be marked absent Thursday if they chose to stay home.
“When the decision is made at six o’clock this morning, we base it on weather information that’s available. Conditions have changed during the day, but once we decide to keep schools open we have an obligation to the students and staff that are there to maintain they are open,” she said.
Durham Catholic District School Board (DCDSB) echoed Bianca's response.
“We recognize that some school boards to the west closed schools based on their local weather assessments, while boards in Durham Region and to the east opted to keep schools open. Decisions are made using real-time information, recognizing that weather and road conditions can vary significantly across the province,” the school board’s statement reads.
Both boards kept schools open despite all school bus routes in Durham Region being cancelled.
The region fell under Environment Canada’s orange snowfall warning for most of the school day before it was lifted, with up to 40 centimetres of snow expected.
The decision has angered some parents in the region, including Ilias Khan. His wife is an early childhood educator and had to come to work with both of their preschool-age kids.
“I was very shocked and surprised waking up this morning knowing that [the] majority of the other school boards were closed. They recognized that this is the time we should think of not just the students, but also the safety of our staff and educators,” he said.
“This is a safety concern for everyone.”
Khan is encouraging other parents to file complaints with the school board.
“I urge all residents to file a formal complaint and demand an explanation from DDSB for this dangerous and inhumane decision,” he wrote in a Facebook post Thursday afternoon.
TDSB 'technical issue' caused missed snow day emails
Meanwhile, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) says a “technical issue” caused some parents and guardians to not receive an email about Thursday’s snow day in the city.
In a message sent to parents and caregivers, the board said an email was sent to families shortly after 6 a.m. advising of school closures — but a problem with the third-party email system used to send emails meant a delay in delivery for some, and others to not get any email at all.
“We understand how important timely communication is, especially during weather-related events and school closures, and we regret any inconvenience this may have caused,” according to the board’s note.
“Please be assured that we are working to identify and resolve this issue moving forward.”
The issue affected other boards Thursday, the TDSB said, while also noting information was shared on social media and the board’s website as of 6 a.m.
“These platforms remain our primary source for emergency and weather-related updates,” the board said.
Environment Canada lifted its snowfall warning for Toronto and the rest of the GTA Thursday afternoon.
With files from Christian D'Avino
