Schools stayed open on Monday through the heavy snowfall – but delayed communication left many parents wondering about closures and bus service.

“We recognize there was a delay in getting updates out to families Monday morning as we co-ordinated across government and with Standard Bus to gather information and provide updates,” Kyle Nightingale, a Department of Education spokesperson, told the Star this morning.

An email to parents from the department wasn’t sent until after 9:30 a.m. Monday – about an hour after the beginning of the school day.

That afternoon, parents were notified that school bus services would be delayed and normal stops adjusted according to road conditions. That correspondence was issued just after 3 p.m., when most students would be boarding their school buses.

Scott Kent, the Yukon Party’s education critic, said Tuesday the late email left many parents “scrambling” to figure out where their children would be dropped off.

Education Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee told the legislature that Monday presented an unusual situation.

“It was certainly weather that no one can predict,” McPhee said.

The department began communicating with school buses at 7 a.m. Monday, and difficulties presented themselves as the morning progressed.

“School buses were, on occasion, getting stuck in snow,” McPhee said.

“Communication back to central office, and therefore on to parents, may have been slower than we had wanted it to be.”

Nightingale said parents are encouraged to register for email notifications using the My School Bus Monitor. 

Schools remained open for students’ safety, according to the minister.

“Parents are best-placed to determine whether they will send their child to school,” McPhee said.

“It remains essential that school buildings be open during extreme weather conditions to provide safe shelter for those arriving at the building and for those students who may have nowhere else to go if parents have to go to work.”

Several Yukon parents posted to social media this week, decrying the government’s response to the snowfall.

One suggested that keeping schools open was “putting bus drivers and kids at risk for no reason” – and contrary to the city’s advisory to stay home.

Another noted that by the time they received the afternoon bus delay notification – which informed parents that students wouldn’t be dropped on side roads, but on the highway – it was too late to pick their child up from school directly. 

A third parent said they were hesitant to keep their child home from school, despite the poor conditions, worried their child might miss the tests scheduled for that day.

“I was checking for updates all morning … and nothing came,” another parent added.