BEAVER COUNTY, Pa. — One of the main components behind a decision on cancelling school in winter weather; can the buses get the kids to school safely?
“Being that they are air brake systems on the buses that’s one thing we have to watch making sure that moisture doesn’t freeze in the weather we have today and tomorrow. What would happen if it did? There’s air tanks and good practice is draining that air tank the moisture or water,” DJ Frye with Frye Transportation told Channel 11.
Frye walks Channel 11 through the process that his mechanics take to make sure each bus is prepared for the cold temperatures as they serve seven different school districts across Beaver County.
“As far as the bus goes with the gelling of the diesel, when we are in the negatives that’s probably the threshold but we do add additives to all of our fuel to help that gelling and it makes it easier on the buses to fire up early in the morning,” Frye said.
When they know school is on, making sure students are not waiting is a huge priority.
“On an 80 degree morning in September it’s just as important as a five degree day on a day in January,” Frye said.
But it’s more than just the temperatures for school superintendents.
“The ultimate decision is how is your facility going to be affected, do you have heating, do you have cooling do you have water? Then each district makes the decision on what’s best for their school, their community and their children,” said Dr. Philip Woods who’s Aliquippa’s Superintendent.
On Tuesday, what was best for Aliquippa was a two-hour delay, according to Woods. He said his students thrive better in person and even though the district will be virtual on Wednesday, the school will be open as a safe space for any student.
“In some cases, the school serves as a warming station, in some cases I learned through the pandemic that the TLC component is not weighed. Our students enjoy being here and want to be here so if I have 50 percent of my kids who want to come I’m going to open my doors as long as it’s safe,” Woods said.
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