The contentious issue of whether schools should remain open on extremely cold days (below -35C), even if buses are not running, was stalled by a procedural dilemma at the March 31 Upper Grand District School Board meeting.
At the business operations committee meeting on March 10, Trustee Barb White had moved that schools remain open on extremely cold days, and that parents would decide to send their children to school or not. At that meeting trustees voted to defer White’s motions to the September meeting of the business operations committee, to allow time for feedback from staff and the community, and to obtain comparisons with other boards.
At the March 31 board meeting White argued that trustees should not wait until after a long hot summer, and put forward an amendment to have the motions debated at the May meeting of business operations. White’s amendment failed in a 4-4 tie vote, and a subsequent vote on the deferral to September also failed in a 4-4 vote. The deadlock resulted in the issue being taken off the table entirely. The chair of the board, Mark Bailey, said that he will consult the board procedural bylaw to see if and when the matter can be raised again.
