Delayed School Buses Leave DPS Students Waiting Outside In Single Digit Temps
DENVER (CBS4) - It was a frosty, cold morning for students standing at bus stops in Denver Monday, and the snowpacked road conditions made many of the school buses late.
Some children who attend schools in the Denver Public Schools system were standing and waiting for their ride to school in single digit temperatures. And some waited nearly an hour or more.
"I waited like 30 minutes because it said to get there early and and it was really cold. It was like 7 degrees outside. And it was just me, and a student left because it was too cold so it was really bad," student Jennifer Reyes told CBS4.
"It was really, really cold. It was a little bit windy. Really, really icy," said Amilian Lacy, another student.
Mother Rico Broadway was among the parents who decided to just drive their children to school.
"Watching the news, I seen that the buses were going to be about 90 minutes late so I decided to bring my daughter to school. I didn't want her standing in the cold," she said.
With more cold and more snow predicted, bus drivers are now scrambling to improve their timeliness. A district spokesman told CBS4 Monday's delays are unacceptable for their students.
Some school districts like Douglas County's on Monday were on a 90 minute delay, which was announced ahead of time so parents could keep their kids warm at home before heading to the bus stops.
Jefferson County prefers not to delay buses because later starts mean buses will have to run their routes in the heart of rush hour.
All school districts say they evaluate the situation each morning before making a decision whether or not to delay school start times and bus routes.
