Westerville superintendent cites icy roads, urges families to clear bus stops before reopening
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Summary
Superintendent Angie Hamburg said the district stayed closed all week because icy, one-lane neighborhood streets and snow-blocked bus stops made student pickups unsafe. She said the district must run transportation if schools open and asked families to clear sidewalks and ramps.
Superintendent Angie Hamburg said Westerville City (Regular School District) schools remained closed all week because some neighborhood streets and bus stop areas are still icy and, in places, reduced to a single lane, making it unsafe for buses to operate. "We have continued to have serious concerns about our ability to get down the roads to pick up our kids," Hamburg said.
Hamburg, who identified herself as the superintendent, said the district has been sending its transportation team out daily to test routes by taking buses and vans onto neighborhood streets. She said many designated safe waiting areas for students are blocked by "big mounds of snow," leaving children exposed to cold or to standing in unsafe locations if buses become stuck or delayed.
The superintendent also explained a procedural constraint that shaped the decision to keep schools closed: "We are actually required if we are open, we are required to transport our children that live in those transport zones," Hamburg said. Because of that duty, the district cannot declare an "optional" open day and ask families to provide their own transportation without running routes.
A district transportation staff member described the storm as "one of the most significant snow events in my over 20 years of experience in school transportation in the state of Ohio," and urged residents to help clear sidewalks, ramps and street corners at bus stops so students can gather in designated safe places. Staff recommended that families, especially those with elementary students, walk the route their child would take to a bus stop this weekend and that families in non-transportation areas travel to their school to check walking paths.
Hamburg said district parking lots and sidewalks had been plowed and were ready for students, but noted the district does not control clearing of all residential streets. She thanked transportation and custodial staff and volunteers for working in cold temperatures and said the district hopes to welcome students back "as soon as possible."