USD 239 Reopens Schools with 2-Hour Delay on Thursday Following Major Winter Storm
North Ottawa County Students will return to school on Thursday, January 9, with a two-hour delay. Like many other districts in the region, the school district was slammed with a significant winter storm event on January 4 and 5. This storm event threw a double punch with ice and heavy snow.
Curtis Stevens, USD 239 Superintendent, stated, “We look forward to seeing students return on Thursday, January 9. I have authorized a two-hour delay for Thursday, January 9, for several reasons:
1. Numerous USD 239 staff travel from outside of our district. Road conditions vary quite a bit across the region. Salina, where some of our employees travel from, has been grappling with extremely messy and icy streets across the city.
2. I wanted to ensure that our bus drivers have sunlight when they navigate the rural roads for the first time after the storm.
3. We have many young drivers, and I also wanted them to drive in conditions with sunlight for the first day back.
4. There are still slick spots. I felt the sunlight on Thursday morning would help our staff and students navigate any lingering ice on the sidewalks. Everyone should use extreme caution when walking on our sidewalks. ”
In addition to the snow removal, the City of Minneapolis had a water main issue that impacted numerous residents and Minneapolis Grade School. Half of the school building did not have running water until late Wednesday afternoon. A representative from the City of Minneapolis called the school district late Wednesday afternoon, informing Superintendent Stevens that a repair had restored water to the school.
Although school will resume on Thursday, school officials warned parents and students to use extreme caution while traveling to and from school. In addition, the district advised students to bundle up—there will continue to be low wind chills for several days.
Superintendent Stevens noted, “He was extremely impressed with the State, Ottawa County Road Crew, the City of Minneapolis, and the USD 239 Operations Department—these hardworking professionals helped us get our schools back into session much sooner than expected.” USD 239 crews have been out working on snow removal ever since Monday. This storm overwhelmed the district’s crew—as it also has other districts. Removing the snow was just the beginning—the operations department also had to contend with ice.
USD 239 Staff looks forward to seeing students for the second semester of the 2024-2025 school year.
The following pictures are just a few examples of their hard work.
